It’s just a matter of time before a smaller one is found…
An international team of astronomers has found the smallest Earth-like planet yet outside our Solar System.
The new planet has five times the Earth’s mass and can be found about 25,000 light-years away in the Milky Way, orbiting a red dwarf star.
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The planet, which goes by the name OGLE-2005-BLG-390Lb, takes about 10 years to orbit its parent star, a red dwarf which is similar to the Sun but cooler and smaller.
It is in the same galaxy as Earth, the Milky Way, but is found closer to the galactic centre.
They’ll need to come up with a catchier name for it: OGLE-2005-BLG-390Lb doesn’t exactly roll off the tongue.
I always thought ‘Gavinio’ would be a good name for a planet