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Explanation: Might this distant planet hold water? Actually, given how close Gliese 1214b is to its parent star, any water, if it exists, would surely be in the form of steam. In the above artist's illustration, the super-Earth Gliese 1214b is imagined passing in front of its parent star, creating a mini-eclipse that alerted humanity to its presence. Gliese 1214b, also designated GJ 1214b, has been designated a super-Earth because it is larger than the Earth but smaller a planet like Neptune. The entire Gliese 1214 planetary system is of the closest known systems to our Sun, located only 42...

GJ 1214b is 2.6 times Earth’s diameter and weighs seven times as much It was first discovered as part of the ground-based MEarth Project in 2009The observations by the Subaru telescope could help scientists find out more about the planet's birthplace and formation history Blue light observations of a super-Earth 40 light years from our planet suggest that it is a world with a thick, steamy water-rich atmosphere.Japanese astronomers used the Subaru telescope to observe planetary transits of the super-Earth, which is located at the centre of the Milky Way.Astronomers had previously confirmed that this alien world has a thick...

This artist's impression shows the super-Earth exoplanet GJ 1214b passing in front of its faint red parent star. Credit: ESO/L. Calçada There are many models predicting the potential sizes and locations for Earth-like planets. The new equation-of-state work performed by Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory scientists and their collaborators will help interpret the structure of exoplanets. Image Credit: Marc Kuchner/NASA GSFC

To date, astronomers have discovered more than 700 planets beyond our solar system, with about 2,300 more "candidates" awaiting confirmation by follow-up observations.