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kaszz [soylentnews.org] writes:

A exoplanet has been discovered [nature.com] that is called "LHS 1140b" [wikipedia.org] and it's deemed a super earth. It lies in the Goldilocks zone where water is in a accessible fluid phase however the atmosphere also plays a critical role, as can be demonstrated with the planet Venus. Seven exoplanets has been found two months ago but LHS 1140b is deemed exceptional. Jason Dittmann, [harvard.edu] astronomer at Harvard University that lead the research group says it's the most interesting exoplanet he has seen in the past decade. In contrast with the TRAPPIST-1 [wikipedia.org] star, LHS 1140 spins slowly and does not emit much high-energy radiation, which also may help the likelihood of life on its planet.

The planet is circa 5*10^9 years old, 500*10^6 years older than Earth. The diameter is 40% larger, the mass 6.6 times that or Earth and the orbit around the star is 10 times closer. Gravity is 3.4 times that of Earth.

The first exoplanet was discovered in 1995 and since then at least 2000 has been discovered.

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