Closest Rocky Exoplanet Discovered Hiding Just 21 Light-Years Away

Scientists have discovered a hidden planetary system that was shrouded in the arms of Cassiopeia, just 21 light-years away from Earth. The new findings reveal that even if a planetary system is close by, we may not see it right away.

The newly found system, named HD219134, hosts one outer giant planet and three inner super-Earths, one of which transits in front of the star. The transiting super-Earth actually has a density similar to the Earth's, and is by far the closest transiting planet known today.

The star of this system is a 5^th magnitude K dwarf, which is slightly colder and less massive than our own sun. It's so bright that we can follow the star with a naked eye from dark skies, and is located next to one leg of the W-shape Cassiopeia constellation.

"When the first HARPS-N radial-velocity measurements indicated the presence of a 3-day planet around HD219134, we immediately asked NASA for Spitzer space telescope time," said Ati Motalebi, one of the researchers, in a news release. "The idea was to check for a potential transit of the planet in front of the star, a mini eclipse, that would allow us to measure the size of the planet. To do this, we needed to go to space to reach the required precision."

The new findings reveal a bit more about this system. With a super-Earth and other planets, this system represents a good planetary system to study and explore in the future.

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