‘Super-Earth’ exoplanet spotted 42 light-years away

bbc.co.uk
November 8, 2012

Astronomers have spotted another candidate for a potentially habitable planet – and it is not too far away.

The star HD 40307 was known to host three planets, all of them too near to support liquid water.

But research to appear in Astronomy and Astrophysics has found three more – among them a “super-Earth” seven times our planet’s mass, in the habitable zone where liquid water can exist.

Many more observations will be needed to confirm any other similarities.

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This article was posted: Thursday, November 8, 2012 at 5:28 pm

Tags: science

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