This Week's Astrophysics (especially for Rosa Eraya)

Artist's impression. Kepler-78b hugs its parent star so closely that nothing could live on its scorching surface. Photograph: A Harutyunyan/TNG/Queens University, Belfast/PA

 

Scientists have found the most similar planet to Earth so far discovered, which is only a little bigger and seems to be made of very similar materials.

 

Describing the results in Nature, two independent teams of scientists found the planet has a diameter of 9,200 miles (around 1.2 times that of Earth), and contains a rocky interior and an iron core. That's where similarities to our home planet end, as Kepler-78b zips around its star every eight and a half hours at a distance of 1m miles, and the surface temperature on this planet is probably at least 2,000C higher than the hottest day on Earth. For more info, click here.