The European Space Agency discovered a new planet after it accidentally appeared n the photos during their mission. The research was being carried out to further explore the Nu2 Lupi planetary system that is 48 light-years from Earth, and suddenly they spotted a new planet.

According to the researchers, this is the first time they discovered a planet like this. It is outside of our solar system, has an orbit of more than 100 days and its star is also visible to the naked eye. This is the first time that an exoplanet like this has been discovered.

The researchers were exploring and further studying the Nu2 Lupi planetary system. They already know about few planets in the solar system but were trying to further explore it. This is when they spotted a third planet. The star in this solar system is 50 light-years away from Earth and is really bright. That is why it is visible to the naked eye as well.

According to the Co-author Dr Thomas Wilson, Research Fellow in the Centre for Exoplanet Science in the School of Physics and Astronomy at the University of St Andrews, “The discovery that Nu2 Lupi d is transiting was surprising as the chance to see a planet transit at this large a distance from their host star is very low.”

"If placed in our Solar System, Nu2 Lupi d would orbit between Mercury and Venus and so the planet receives a very low amount of starlight compared to the majority of discovered exoplanets.”

"The brightness of the star and low distance to the planetary system from Earth (only 50 light years), means that Nu2 Lupi d is now a unique target for further study using the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope or forthcoming NASA/ESA/CSA James Webb Space Telescope,” he added.

Since the planet has been spotted, the researchers are now trying to study the atmosphere, orbit and other details of it. According to the researchers, the newly discovered planet might have water.

While exploring two exoplanets in a bright nearby star system, #Cheops unexpectedly spotted the system’s third known planet crossing the face of the star!

This transit reveals exciting details about a rare planet with no known equivalent 👉https://t.co/No6ciOqLoq pic.twitter.com/M4DNxPMfN5
— ESA CHEOPS – Characterising Exoplanet Satellite (@ESA_CHEOPS) June 28, 2021