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We report the discovery and confirmation of a new exoplanet, called TOI-7166 b, that orbits a nearby, small, cool star. The planet was confirmed by combining observations from NASA鈥檚 Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS) with very precise brightness measurements from ground-based telescopes taken in multiple colors. These data were supported by additional information from spectroscopy, high-contrast imaging, archival images, and statistical tests to rule out false signals. The host star is an M4-type red dwarf located about 35 parsecs from the Sun and has a relatively small mass and radius compared with the Sun.
TOI-7166 b completes one orbit every 12.9 days. This places it near the inner edge of the star鈥檚 Habitable Zone, the region where temperatures could allow liquid water to exist under the right conditions. Based on how much energy it receives from its star (its insolation flux), the planet鈥檚 estimated equilibrium temperature is about K, assuming it reflects no light (a zero Bond albedo). Because the host star is relatively bright, TOI-7166 b is well suited for follow-up studies using the radial velocity method, which can measure the planet鈥檚 mass and overall density.
In addition, the combination of the star鈥檚 strong infrared brightness and the planet鈥檚 size relative to the star makes TOI-7166 b an excellent candidate for transmission spectroscopy with the James Webb Space Telescope. These observations could reveal details about the planet鈥檚 atmosphere, including its composition, making TOI-7166 b a particularly valuable target for future studies of potentially habitable worlds around low-mass stars.
Figure 1.
TESS聽target pixel file image of TOI-7166 observed in Sectors 82 made by聽tpfplotter聽(A. Aller et聽al.听2020). Red dots show the location of聽Gaia聽DR3 sources and the yellow shaded regions show the photometric apertures used for photometric measurements extraction.