Astronomy for today

Data places the planet at a distance from its host star where liquid water could exist on the world's surface.
Provided by NASA Headquarters, Washington, D.C.

A team of planet hunters from the University of California (UC) Santa Cruz, and the Carnegie Institution of Washington has announced the discovery of a planet with 3 times the mass of Earth orbiting a nearby star at a distance that places it squarely in the middle of the star's "habitable zone."