Claim:
NASA technology has discovered a ‘super-Earth’ exoplanet that emits ‘strange signals’.
Rating:
Rating: Mostly true
What is true:
Scientists using NASA’s Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite have discovered an exoplanet, which NASA defines as any planet beyond our solar system.
What is fake:
However, the phrase “strange signals” came from reports and social media posts about the discovery, not NASA or the researchers involved. The supposed “strange signals” are actually commonly observed transit signals that “reveal an exoplanet not because we see it directly from many light-years away, but because the planet passing in front of its star dims its light very slightly,” according to NASA.
A rumor circulating on social media in January 2026 claimed that scientists had discovered a “super-Earth” outside our solar system.
A post on X claimed that the so-called super-Earth, called TOI-1846b, was 154 light-years away and was emitting “mysterious, repeating” signals.
The claim echoed similar rumors from July 2025, such as an (archived) Instagram post that provided more details about the purported discovery, including that the planet was “about twice the size of Earth,” and that it was made using NASA’s Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite.
https://www.instagram.com/p/DMMNi27snga/
Indeed, claims that scientists have discovered a new exoplanet using TESS are mostly true. The discovery was made by a research team based at Oukaimeden Observatory in Morocco, which “validated TOI-1846b using TESS and multicolor ground photometric data, high-resolution imaging, and spectroscopic observations,” according to a paper published by the discovery team.
However, there is an important context to understand.
For example, reports of signals described as “mysterious” or “strange” by users on social media and tabloids such as Daily Mail have been embellished to attract readers, which is why we’ve rated this statement mostly true. Claims suggesting that the discovery of TOI-1846b can be attributed to anything otherworldly, unfamiliar, or otherwise “strange” emanating from the exoplanet have been inaccurate.
Rather, the scientists in question employed a method commonly used to detect exoplanets by measuring transit signals, or a “dip” in starlight captured by scientific instruments due to a planet passing in front of the star it orbits. A NASA spokesperson explained to Snopes via email:
When a planet passes directly between us and a star, the planet blocks some of the starlight from reaching us. For a short time, the star’s light becomes dimmer from our point of view. This small change can alert astronomers to the presence of a planet around a distant star. This change is known as a transit signal and is one of the main methods scientists use to discover exoplanets, or planets outside our solar system.
“The TESS mission was designed to discover thousands of exoplanets this way,” NASA told Snopes. “Using data from TESS, as the authors of this study did, scientists have discovered planets ranging from small, rocky worlds to giant planets.”
right paper Outlining the research behind the discovery, “TOI-1846b is a super-Earth-sized planet with a radius of about 1.8R⊕, placing it in the intriguing radius valley of exoplanet sizes.”
NASA defined “super-Earths” as “unlike anything in our solar system, they are 2 to 10 times the mass of Earth, but smaller than Neptune, and may be made of gas, rock, or a combination of both.” The researchers said their discovery “most likely has a water-rich bulk composition based on its radius.”
further, GODMOTHER explained the “radius valley” as “what appears to be a strange gap in the size of the planets” that could impact the type of terrain the planet exhibits, such as “rocky super-Earths and more substantial, gas-rich mini-Neptunes,” according to the research paper. NASA also noted that it “will require a much better understanding of how planetary systems form” to fully explain that radius valley.
According to a report on the discovery on the scientific website Earth.comthe “combination of size and weight” on TOI-1846b “gives it a density lighter than solid rock, but heavier than planets with thick, gaseous envelopes.”
Additionally, the discovery team’s report stated, “Such planets are relatively rare, and their study can provide vital clues about planet formation and evolutionary processes.”
The report also states that M dwarf stars such as the one orbited by TOI-1846b are “promising candidates for searching for small, temperate exoplanets using transit methods” because “the transit signal is significantly more pronounced than that of similar planets orbiting Sun-like stars, making such planets easier to detect and characterize.”
According to NASA, exoplanets are divided into four categories: “Gas Giant, Neptunian, Super-Earth, and Terrestrial.” NASA’s Exoplanet Archive stated that there are more than 6,000 confirmed exoplanets, including 725 of those confirmed by the TESS satellite launch in April 2018.
The Exoplanet Archive does not currently list TOI-1846b, but a NASA spokesperson said “there may be a slight delay in updates” to the site.
Sources:
Exoplanets – NASA Science. 7 June 2023, https://science.nasa.gov/exoplanets/.
“NASA Discovers ‘Super-Earth’ With Possible Oceans Orbiting Nearby Red Dwarf Star.” Earth.Com, https://www.earth.com/news/super-earth-toi-1846-b-possible-oceans-discovered-orbiting-red-dwarf-star/. Accessed 16 July 2025.
NASA Exoplanet Archive. https://exoplanetarchive.ipac.caltech.edu/. Accessed 16 July 2025.
Nowakowski, Tomasz, and Phys.org. Astronomers discover a super-Earth exoplanet orbiting a nearby star. https://phys.org/news/2025-07-astronomers-super-earth-exoplanet-orbiting.html. Accessed 16 July 2025.
Soubkiou, Abderahmane et al. TOI-1846b: A Radius Valley Super-Earth orbiting a nearby M dwarf. arXiv:2506.18550, arXiv, 23 June 2025. arXiv.org, https://doi.org/10.48550/arXiv.2506.18550.
TESS (Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite) – NASA Science. 22 Apr. 2025, https://science.nasa.gov/mission/tess/.
What is a Transit? – NASA Science. 27 Apr. 2020, https://science.nasa.gov/exoplanets/whats-a-transit/.