Super-Earth detected

frozen and dimly lit planet, dubbed a “SuperEarth,” may be orbiting the closest single star to our solar system, astronomers said on Wednesday, based on two decades of scientific observations.

The planet, estimated to be at least 3.2 times more massive than Earth, was spotted circling Barnard’s Star, a type of relatively cool and low-mass star called a red dwarf, about 6 lightyears away from our solar system, comparatively close in cosmic terms.