CAMBRIDGE, MASSACHUSETTS — American scientists have discovered a super-sized earthlike planet in a nearby star system that could support alien life. <br /> <br />The research, conducted by the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics, was published in the journal Nature last month. <br /> <br />According to a news release on the center’s website, the exoplanet LHS 1140b orbits a red dwarf star every 25 days at a proximity ten times closer than earth to the sun. <br /> <br />This red dwarf star is much dimmer and cooler than the sun, meaning the star’s habitable zone is closer. However, its cosmic radiation could still damage the planet. <br /> <br />LHS 1140b is 1.4 times the size of planet earth, but is almost seven times heavier, indicating it’s likely composed of rock and an iron core. <br /> <br />It’s because of this density that researchers believe the planet may be robust to enough to endure the radiation and still hold water.
