LHS 1140 b

LHS 1140 b is an exoplanet orbiting within the

conservative habitable zone of the red dwarf LHS
LHS 1140 b
1140. Discovered in 2017 by the MEarth Project,[1]
LHS 1140 b is about 5.6 times the mass of Earth and
about 70% larger in radius, putting it within the super-
Earth category of planets. It was initially thought to be
a dense rocky planet, but refined measurements of its
mass and radius have found a lower density, indicating
that it is likely an ocean world with 9-19% of its mass
composed of water, or a dense mini-Neptune. LHS
1140 b orbits entirely within the star's habitable zone
Artist's impression of the planet LHS 1140 b
and gets 43% the incident flux of Earth.[2] The planet
and its host star
is 49 light-years away and transits its star, making it an
excellent candidate for atmospheric studies with Discovery[1]
ground-based and/or space telescopes.[1] Discovered by MEarth Project
Discovery date 20 April 2017 (Published)
Host star Detection Transit
method
LHS 1140 b orbits a small red dwarf, LHS 1140. It is
Orbital characteristics[2]
18.4% the mass and 21.6% the radius of the Sun with a
spectral type of M4.5V. The temperature of LHS 1140 Semi-major 0.0946 ± 0.0017 AU
is 3,096 K (2,823 °C; 5,113 °F), and it has a luminosity axis
of 0.0038 times that of the Sun. It is at least 5 billion Eccentricity <0.043
years old.[2] For comparison, the Sun is 1 solar mass Orbital period 24.736 9148 ± 0.000 0058 d[3]
and radius, has a temperature of 5778 K with 1 solar (sidereal)
luminosity, is 4.5 billion years old, and has the spectral
Inclination 89.86° ± 0.04°
type of G2V. In addition, LHS 1140 is a very inactive
star, with no major flare events found by the discovery Star LHS 1140
team of its planet. Unlike most stars its size, LHS 1140 Physical characteristics[2]
has low amounts of activity and rotates every 130
Mean radius 1.730 ± 0.025 R🜨
days.[1]
Mass 5.60 ± 0.19 M🜨

Characteristics Mean density 5.9 ± 0.3 g/cm3

Temperature 226 ± 4 K (−47 °C; −53 °F,
equilibrium)
Mass and radius

LHS 1140 b has been detected using both the radial velocity method (which measures the mass of a
companion object) and transit photometry (which determines radius). Because of this, LHS 1140 b is one of
very few potentially habitable exoplanets with a determined mass and radius, the others all being those
around TRAPPIST-1. The planet's radius is well-constrained at 1.730 ± 0.025 R🜨, equivalent to about
11,000 km.[2] Its radius is similar to that of Kepler-62e.
A recent study from 2023 reevaluates the mass and radius of LHS 1140 b, finding a mass of
5.60 ± 0.19 M🜨 and a radius of 1.730 ± 0.025 R🜨, less massive and larger than previous estimates. This
would make LHS 1140 b a ocean world or dense mini-Neptune rather than a terrestrial planet.[2]

Orbit and temperature

The orbit of LHS 1140 b takes 24.737 days to complete, much quicker than Earth's year of 365 days. Its
orbital radius is at 0.0946 AU, or 9.46% the distance between Earth and the Sun. While this is quite close,
the star LHS 1140 is so dim that the planet only gets 0.43 times the incident flux of Earth at this distance.[2]
Assuming an albedo of 0, LHS 1140 b has an equilibrium temperature of 230 K (−43 °C; −46 °F),
compared to Earth's at 255 K (−18 °C; −1 °F). If LHS 1140 b has an albedo similar to that of Earth, the
equilibrium temperature would be even lower, at 201 K (−72 °C; −98 °F). However, with a greenhouse
effect at least as strong as Earth's LHS 1140 b would have a surface temperature greater than 266 K (−7 °C;
19 °F) for an albedo of 0. Due to the high mass of the planet, it likely has a thicker atmosphere with a more
powerful greenhouse effect. Like many potentially habitable planets around red dwarfs, the orbit of LHS
1140 b is quite circular: the eccentricity is measured to be lower than 0.29 to a 90% confidence. The
circularization of the orbit cannot be explained by stellar tides, and thus the circularity of the orbit is likely
to be natal.[1]

Composition

Initially the planet was believed to have an extremely high density around 12.5 g/cm3 , one of the highest
ever observed for a rocky planet and over twice the density of Earth, with an iron-nickel core taking up to
75% of the planet's total mass.[1] Later studies in 2018 and 2020 revised the planet's radius upwards, giving
+0.98
it a density of 7.82 −0.88 g/cm3 , still consistent with a rocky composition, and a lower core mass fraction of
49 ± 7%.[4] For comparison, Earth's core comprises about 32.5% of its mass. The 2020 study also suggests
that about 4% of the planet's mass is composed of water, suggesting it could be an ocean world estimated to
have an average ocean depth of 779 ± 650 km.[4]

A 2023 study measuring the planet's mass and radius with greater precision found a lower mass of about
5.6 times Earth's, and a correspondingly lower density, no longer consistent with a rocky planet given the
planet's size. LHS 1140 b is likely an ocean world with an even greater water mass fraction of 9-19%, or a
dense mini-Neptune.[2]

Atmosphere

A potential detection of water vapor in the atmosphere of LHS 1140 b was made in late 2020 with the
Hubble Space Telescope, albeit at a low signal-to-noise ratio.[3]

Habitability
LHS 1140 b orbits close to the outer edge of the habitable zone, a region around a star where temperatures
are just right for liquid water to pool on the surface of orbiting planets, given sufficient atmospheric
pressure. The equilibrium temperature of LHS 1140 b is rather low, at 230 K (−43 °C; −46 °F), as cold as
the polar regions on Earth. However, this is the calculated temperature excluding the impact of a thick
atmosphere. With an Earth-like greenhouse effect, the surface temperature is about 266 K (−7 °C; 19 °F),
but since the planet is so massive, the greenhouse effect may be even higher. At twice the greenhouse effect
of Earth, LHS 1140 b would have a comfortable surface temperature of 296 K (23 °C; 73 °F). In addition,
the host star is so inactive that atmospheric erosion will not be very high, suggesting the planet should be
able to retain its atmosphere over long timescales.[1]

See also
Nearby potentially habitable exoplanets
Proxima Centauri b
Ross 128 b
Luyten b
TRAPPIST-1d
TRAPPIST-1e
TRAPPIST-1f
TRAPPIST-1g
K2-3d, a low-density planet near the habitable zone
Kepler-1652b, a potentially habitable super-Earth
Habitability of red dwarf systems
List of potentially habitable exoplanets

References
1. Dittmann, Jason A.; Irwin, Jonathan M.; Charbonneau, David; Bonfils, Xavier; Astudillo-
Defru, Nicola; Haywood, Raphaëlle D.; et al. (2017). "A temperate rocky super-Earth
transiting a nearby cool star". Nature. 544 (7650): 333–336. arXiv:1704.05556 (https://arxiv.o
rg/abs/1704.05556). Bibcode:2017Natur.544..333D (https://ui.adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2017
Natur.544..333D). doi:10.1038/nature22055 (https://doi.org/10.1038%2Fnature22055).
PMID 28426003 (https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/28426003). S2CID 2718408 (https://api.se
manticscholar.org/CorpusID:2718408).
2. Cadieux, Charles; Plotnykov, Mykhaylo; et al. (October 2023). "New Mass and Radius
Constraints on the LHS 1140 Planets -- LHS 1140 b is Either a Temperate Mini-Neptune or a
Water World". The Astrophysical Journal Letters. arXiv:2310.15490 (https://arxiv.org/abs/231
0.15490).
3. Edwards, Billy; Changeat, Quentin; Mori, Mayuko; Anisman, Lara O.; Morvan, Mario; Yip, Kai
Hou; Tsiaras, Angelos; Al-Refaie, Ahmed; Waldmann, Ingo; Tinetti, Giovanna (2020),
"Hubble WFC3 Spectroscopy of the Habitable-zone Super-Earth LHS 1140 B", The
Astronomical Journal, 161: 44, arXiv:2011.08815 (https://arxiv.org/abs/2011.08815),
Bibcode:2021AJ....161...44E (https://ui.adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2021AJ....161...44E),
doi:10.3847/1538-3881/abc6a5 (https://doi.org/10.3847%2F1538-3881%2Fabc6a5),
S2CID 226975730 (https://api.semanticscholar.org/CorpusID:226975730)
4. Lillo-Box, J.; Figueira, P.; Leleu, A.; Acuña, L.; Faria, J. P.; Hara, N.; Santos, N. C.; Correia, A.
C. M.; Robutel, P.; Deleuil, M.; Barrado, D.; Sousa, S.; Bonfils, X.; Mousis, O.; Almenara, J.
M.; Astudillo-Defru, N.; Marcq, E.; Udry, S.; Lovis, C.; Pepe, F. (2020), "Planetary system LHS
1140 revisited with ESPRESSO and TESS", Astronomy & Astrophysics, 642: A121,
arXiv:2010.06928 (https://arxiv.org/abs/2010.06928), Bibcode:2020A&A...642A.121L (https://
ui.adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2020A&A...642A.121L), doi:10.1051/0004-6361/202038922 (http
s://doi.org/10.1051%2F0004-6361%2F202038922), S2CID 222341356 (https://api.semantic
scholar.org/CorpusID:222341356)
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