# LHS 475 b: A Venus-sized Planet Orbiting a Nearby M Dwarf

**Authors:** Kristo Ment, David Charbonneau, Jonathan Irwin, Jennifer G. Winters, Emily Pass, Avi Shporer, Zahra Essack, Veselin B. Kostov, Michelle Kunimoto, Alan Levine, Sara Seager, Roland Vanderspek, Joshua N. Winn  
**arXiv:** [2304.01920](https://arxiv.org/abs/2304.01920)  
**Date:** 2023-04-04  
**Summary page:** https://www.summarizepaper.com/en/paper/2304.01920v1/

## Key points

- Researchers discovered an exoplanet the size of Venus orbiting LHS 475, an M3 dwarf star located 12.5 parsecs from the Sun
- The planet was originally reported as TOI 910.01 and has been named LHS 475 b
- Photometric observations from TESS and ground-based follow-up photometry with MEarth were used to confirm the validity of the transit signal with five individual transits
- CHIRON radial velocity data ruled out any massive companions in its orbit
- LHS 475 b has an estimated radius of $0.955 \pm 0.053~\rm{R_{Earth}}$ and an orbital period of $2.0291025 \pm 0.0000020$ days which makes it a terrestrial planet according to observed mass-radius distribution of exoplanets and planet formation theory
- Its RV semi-amplitude is close to 1 m/s
- Although too hot to be habitable, this exoplanet is a suitable candidate for emission and transmission spectroscopy studies that could provide more information about its composition and atmosphere

## Summary

A team of researchers led by Kristo Ment, David Charbonneau and Sara Seager have discovered an exoplanet the size of Venus orbiting LHS 475 - an M3 dwarf star located 12.5 parsecs from the Sun. This planet was originally reported as TOI 910.01 and has been named LHS 475 b. The team used photometric observations from TESS and ground-based follow-up photometry with MEarth to confirm the validity of the transit signal with five individual transits. CHIRON radial velocity data also ruled out any massive companions in its orbit. LHS 475 b has an estimated radius of $0.955 \pm 0.053~\rm{R_{Earth}}$ and an orbital period of $2.0291025 \pm 0.0000020$ days which makes it a terrestrial planet according to observed mass-radius distribution of exoplanets and planet formation theory. Its RV semi-amplitude is close to 1 m/s. Although too hot to be habitable, this exoplanet is a suitable candidate for emission and transmission spectroscopy studies that could provide more information about its composition and atmosphere.