Scientists spot super-Earth planet in Earth-like orbit

Scientists suspect they have identified an intriguing new alien planet in a particularly roundabout way.

The planet is eye-catching because it bears some eerie similarities to Earth, but also some stark differences. In terms of size, the scientists believe the world is about four times Earth's mass. The planet's star is a dim dwarf star, perhaps even a brown dwarf, or "failed star." The planet's year lasts about 617 Earth days, even though its orbit falls somewhere between those of Earth and Venus around our sun.

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Tour the GJ 357 system, located 31 light-years away in the constellation Hydra. Astronomers confirming a planet candidate identified by NASA's Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite subsequently found two additional worlds orbiting the star.

The outermost planet, GJ 357 d, is especially intriguing to scientists because it receives as much energy from its star as Mars does from the Sun.