Nearby super-Earth emerges as a top target in the search for life

From ScienceDaily

University of California, Irvine astronomers have identified an exoplanet located within a star’s habitable zone, a region where temperatures could allow liquid water to exist on the surface. Liquid water is considered essential for every form of life currently known. The planet lies in a relatively nearby part of the Milky Way Galaxy and appears to have a rocky structure similar to Earth. It is several times more massive, placing it in the category of a “super-Earth.”