--- title: "Scientists Think This Exoplanet Shows What Earth Will Become in the Future" description: "Exoplanet SPECULOOS-2c, perhaps, can maybe give us an exact solar radiation level to be wary of. (Or a ballpark figure, at least.)" date: "2022-10-07" modified: "2022-10-07" authors: - name: "Maggie Harrison Dupré" job_title: "Senior Staff Writer" link: "https://futurism.com/authors/mharrison" url: "https://futurism.com/the-byte/exoplanet-shows-earth-future" categories: - "Astronomy" - "Exoplanets" - "Space" tags: - "dwarf star" - "exoplanet" - "Sun" - "the digest" --- # Scientists Think This Exoplanet Shows What Earth Will Become in the Future ![Exoplanet SPECULOOS-2c, perhaps, can maybe give us an exact solar radiation level to be wary of. (Or a ballpark figure, at least.)]() *\Image: Getty Images\* ## Scorched Earth Last month, an international team of scientists [published a paper]() detailing the [discovery of two "Super-Earth" exoplanets]() — basically, two nearby worlds that a little bigger than our own planet. And one of these two exoplanets, the scientists determined, may hold the key ingredients needed to support life. Of course, that's a cool discovery unto itself. But fascinatingly, that potentially life-supporting exoplanet, called SPECULOOS-2c, may offer more than a possible climate change exit-strategy. According to one of its discoverers, we might actually be able learn a lot about our own planet's *future* by studying the SPECULOOS-2c's relationship to its home star, SPECULOOS-2. "This planet is interesting to us," study co-author Lisa Kaltenegger [told Spanish newspaper *El Pías*]() in a translated new interview, "because it provides clues as to what will happen in about five billion years when our Sun starts to die and get bigger, scorching the Earth." ## Ghost World SPECULOOS-2c and its neighbor, LP 890-9b, both orbit what's called an M-class red dwarf, which is a small, cool, hydrogen-burning star. Because they're so small, any bodies orbiting them have to be quite close by. Which doesn't generally bode well for them, as M-class red dwarves are [actually very prone]() to Definitely Not Life Supporting solar flares. That being said, the SPECULOOS-2 study addresses this M-dwarf conundrum — though SPECULOOS-2c orbits quite close to its home star, the level of irradiation that it gets is curiously low. But according to Kaltenegger, those radiation levels — especially considering the exoplanet's Earth-adjacent size as well as its promising potential for being able to host liquid water — can actually help us understand how [Earth's almost certain future of intense solar radiation]() will go down. As our Sun ages, it'll likely become a red giant rather than a red dwarf, and our planet will likely eventually be [swallowed whole](). And as it gets bigger, radiation will inch closer and closer to our home planet, eventually [becoming unbearable]() for living beings and the [natural world that makes life possible](). And SPECULOOS-2c, perhaps, can maybe give us an exact radiation level to be wary of. (Or a ballpark figure, at least.) "This planet can tell us what level of radiation will trigger the evaporation of all the water on Earth," Kaltenegger continued. "It's like traveling five billion years into the Earth's future." **READ MORE:** *['We found a planet that shows us what the Earth will be like in five billion years']()* \[*El Pais*\] **More on SPECULOOS-2c:** [*Scientists Discover Nearby "Super-Earth" That May Support Life*]() ## Author At Futurism, I've reported extensively on the rise of AI as a cultural and business force shaping the media industry, and more broadly how those dynamics are changing how we all consume and share information and relate to one another. I'm also fascinated by public health policy and ethics, the role of emerging tech in politics and governance — and the powerful people and forces at those intersections — climate change, and the environment. My investigation on Sports Illustrated's use of AI-generated authors with fictional biographies won a 2024 Mirror Award for "Best Story on Media Coverage of Artificial Intelligence in Journalism and the Media" from Syracuse University's SI Newhouse School, I contributed to Niemen Lab's 2025 Predictions for Journalism series, and I've discussed my work for Futurism during appearances on NPR, CNN, the BBC, the CBC, and more. I grew up in rural Pennsylvania and attended the University of Massachusetts Amherst, where I played Division I field hockey for the Minutewomen as a midfielder. Since then, I've lived in New Orleans, Louisiana and Manhattan, New York. I spend my free time running, reading, perusing archival fashion, and searching for the world’s best negroni. I also have a debonair tuxedo cat, Westley, who's named after "The Princess Bride." ### Author social links [Bluesky]()