Earth-sized planet discovered orbiting nearest star

Astronomers have discovered an exoplanet roughly the size of Earth orbiting Alpha Centauri B, the star nearest our sun.

The Alpha Centauri system -- composed of three stars orbiting one another -- is only 4.4 light-years away, a cosmic stone's throw from us. Though the newly discovered planet has about the same mass as our own, its orbit is 25 times smaller, so a year on this planet passes in just 3.2 days. This means the planet is sitting up against its star, roasting at perhaps 1,200 degrees Celsius with a surface likely composed of molten lava.

By: Adam Mann, Edited by: David Cornish

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via Wired.co.uk



http://www.wired.co.uk/news/archive/2012-10/17/earth-sized-planet