Discover a new super-Earth – found in the habitable zone

The exoplanet TOI-715 b is described as “relatively close to us,” which in this case means it is 137 light-years away. It orbits a small red star in what's called the habitable zone: a planet close enough to its star to have liquid water on its surface. TOI-715 b is much closer to its star than Earth is to the Sun – one revolution takes only 19 days – but the star is much smaller and cooler than our Sun.

Two planets in the habitable zone

NASA said in a press release that the newly discovered planet is about one and a half times the size of Earth, and is believed to have a neighbor the same size as Earth that also lies within the habitable zone.

TOI-715 b was discovered with the help of the Tess space telescope, a transiting exoplanet survey satellite, whose mission is to scan the brightest stars near Earth to find exoplanets. Now the new planet, or planets, will be closely examined by the James Webb Telescope.