Why is it in the News?

Recently astronomers have discovered an uncommon star system located just 100 light-years away from us, with six planets huddled immensely close to their host star.

What about sub-Neptunes?

• Sub-Neptunes are generally any planet that has a smaller radius than Neptune, although some could still be more massive.
• There are no sub-Neptunes in our solar system even though they are now known to be more common around other stars than Neptune-sized worlds.
• They might be rocky planets with thick atmospheres of hydrogen and helium gas, planets made of rock and ice bearing warm and water-rich atmospheres.
• These sub-Neptune planets were Initially detected in 2020 by NASA's Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS) and are about two to three times as big as Earth.

What are the findings?

• The newly discovered sub-Neptunes range from 1.9 to 2.9 times Earth's diameter.
• All appear to possess a large atmosphere.
• They and their star are located around 100 light-years from Earth.
• A light year is the distance light travels in a year, 5.9 trillion miles (9.5 trillion km).
• The system has six planets, all about the same size and they've barely changed since its formation up to 12 billion years ago.
• Their star, called HD110067, is visible in Earth's night sky in the northern constellation Coma Berenices.
• These undisturbed conditions make it ideal for learning how these worlds formed and whether they host life.