NASA discovers new exoplanet 3 times the size of Earth

An exoplanet three times the size of Earth, but 23 times heavier, has been discovered relatively close to our solar system.

NASA’s Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS) spied the mysterious planet right at the beginning of its mission scanning the skies for new planets: the third such discovery in its first three months of operation.

Known to scientists as HD 21749b, it is a mere 53 light-years from Earth in the southern constellation of the constellation Reticulum.

It is three times bigger than Earth, which classes it as a Sub-Neptune exoplanet, but it is surprisingly 23 times Earth’s mass.

HD 21749b takes 36 Earth days to orbit around its star, which is nearly as bright as the Sun.