Photo: New Planet Bonanza Offers Clues in Search for Other "Earths"

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A planet about 22 times the mass of Earth orbits the star Gliese 436 in an artist's rendering. Advances in planet-hunting technology recently allowed astronomers to pin down the distant planet's size.

This year scientists found 28 new exoplanets—planets outside of our solar system—bringing the total known to 236.

Illustration by Lynette Cook, courtesy California and Carnegie Planet Search

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