Artist’s View of Extrasolar Planet GJ1214b
February 21, 2012
| Credit | NASA/ESA/D. Aguilar, Harvard-Smithsonian CfA |
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GJ1214b, shown in this artist's view, is a super-Earth orbiting a red dwarf star 40 light-years from Earth. New observations from NASA's Hubble Space Telescope show that it is a waterworld enshrouded by a thick, steamy atmosphere. GJ1214b represents a new type of planet, like nothing seen in our solar system or any other planetary system currently known.