A “Super Earth” Was Discovered in Orbit Around a Nearby Star

The planet's star is about 30 trillion miles away.

planet
A new "Super Earth" has been discovered near our own.
Getty Images/Science Photo Libra

A much colder and bigger version of our planet, dubbed the “Super Earth,” was recently discovered in space by scientists, revolving around a nearby star.

But saying it’s bigger and colder are both huge understatements. The “Super Earth” is more than three times the size of our version, with an average temperature hovering around 238 degrees below zero.

The planet is “close” to our solar system by cosmic standards only, as its version of our sun, Barnard’s Star, is nearly 30 trillion miles away. And in a wave of creativity, scientists are calling the planet Barnard’s Star b, USA Today reported.

“After a very careful analysis, we are 99 percent confident that the planet is there,” said a statement by the study’s lead scientist, Ignasi Ribas of Spain’s Institute of Space Sciences. “We used observations from seven different instruments, spanning 20 years of measurements, making this one of the largest and most extensive data sets ever used.”

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