Special Report: NASA Discovers Planet Eight Times Bigger Than Earth
Courtesy: Tagtik News
NASA has been monitoring a never before seen planet in its solar system, which is eight times the size of Earth.
The exoplanet, named GJ 1214 b, was first detected in 2009 by the Hubble Telescope, but thanks to the James Webb Telescope, scientists have now gained new insights into its composition.
GJ 1214 b has been classified as a sub-Neptune due to its size, a term used for planets smaller than Neptune but larger than Earth.
This type of planet, with its unique composition, is only found outside our solar system.
"GJ 1214b has been the white whale of exoplanet atmosphere characterisation, the whole community has been chasing it for a long time. It’s great to finally see some of its secrets revealed," says Laura Kreidberg, director at the Max Planck Institute for Astronomy (MPIA) in Heidelberg in Germany.