Earth-like exoplanet GJ 3378b discovered 25 light-years away
Astronomers identify a potentially habitable super-Earth orbiting a red dwarf in the nearby constellation Camelopardalis.
What to know
- GJ 3378b, a super-Earth 2.3 times Earth's mass, orbits in the habitable zone of a red dwarf 25 light-years away, where liquid water could potentially exist.
- The discovery, made using radial velocity detection at ground-based telescopes, suggests potentially habitable worlds may be more common near the sun than previously thought.
- The planet's atmosphere and ability to retain stable surface conditions remain unknown; it sits near the 'cosmic shoreline' where stellar radiation can strip away atmospheres over time.
- NASA's Habitable Worlds Observatory, planned for launch in the 2040s, is designed to study nearby exoplanets like GJ 3378b to determine if they can support life.
The dispute Whether '25 light-years away' represents a meaningful proximity for scientific interest versus whether human fascination with distant planets is misplaced when Earth's problems remain unsolved. · positions read across 86 posts and comments
The distance is absurdly far for practical purposes, and 'just 25 light-years' is misleading marketing.
-
“just 25 light-years from earth, so a mere 236,518,261,814,520 km, or trifling centuries of travel at the fastest conceivable rates”
billjondoyle.bsky.social · Bluesky ↗
In cosmic terms, 25 light-years is genuinely close and represents a legitimate scientific milestone.
-
“I mean, that's practically a block down the street in astronomical terms.”
las1991.bsky.social · Bluesky ↗
Humanity should focus on fixing Earth's problems before exploring other planets.
-
“Can we just take care of the Earth we have?”
ssfee.bsky.social · Bluesky ↗
GJ 3378b is not truly Earth-like and overselling occurs; finding planets around sun-like stars with Earth's mass would be more significant.
-
“It's not Earth-like. It's 2.3 times more massive than Earth, and it orbits a red dwarf. Call me when they find something around an orange or yellow star, with a mass close to that of the Earth.”
mecha-sheep.bsky.social · Bluesky ↗
“Our mantra is 'follow the water'. It's the one thing every known living thing on Earth needs, so that's the first thing we look for when trying to find environments that could sustain life.”
Paul Robertson, Lead researcher, UC Irvine · Forbes
Paul Robertson Lead researcher, UC IrvineNASA Space agency
The record 2 articles and posts · last 30 days
What people are saying 24 voices from 1 site · best of 86 · verbatim
- Does GJ 3378b truly qualify as 'Earth-like' given it is 2.3 times Earth's mass and orbits a red dwarf rather than a sun-like star?
- What is the timeline for the Habitable Worlds Observatory to study GJ 3378b and how will it determine if an atmosphere capable of supporting life exists?
- Aug 21
-
I discovered if I cover my home in solar panels,buy a battery and EV,have a heat battery for water powered by sun also my bills are virtually zero and I help save THIS PLANET
-
more ..lots more. The math says it would take 450,000 years.
-
No paywall, here. Doesn't sound earthlike enough.
-
W
Shhh Don’t tell Elon Or Jeff Or Peter Or that Virgin air guy
- Aug 20
-
obvious vs oblivious: why? so men can go ruin that one too?
-
"Just" 25 light years away, lol. The fact that we can actually determine whether or not a star has ANY planets, much less one that is possibly "Earth-like", at such an almost inconceivable distance, never ceases to boggle my mind.
-
Tell Elon to hop on his rocket and go check it out.
-
We already have a beautiful planet, so strange we don’t look after it. Not it’s trees, its wildlife, its birds, its bees Astronomy is fabulous but still.
-
And it would become a "target" indeed, given what happens here. :(
-
Let's send Spaceshot and Mars explorer over to the new Plant on a one-way spaceship to infinity. Good riddance Leon.
-
We’ll just fuck that one up for profit too 🤷♂️
-
Let’s send Musk, Bezos & the other billionaire rocketeers there to investigate- STAT.
-
F
The found a sign on it though, it said: "NO REPUBLICANS!".
-
Can we just take care of the Earth we have?
-
Presumptuously speaking for the Earth-like Exo-Planet: “happy to take anything you offer except the species you call “human”. They’re all yours.”
-
Thank goodness it’s too far away for us to get there. Otherwise there would be another planet for us to f&@k up. If there’s life there, I hope they’re intelligent enough to know not to let us in. 
-
Yeap, ‘ just 25 light years away’ 147 trillion miles give it or take, pretty Darn close😅 ,
-
It left its source within my lifetime at least, that’s a hell of a lot closer than a lot of things we look at up there lol.
-
I mean, that’s practically a block down the street in astronomical terms.
-
It's not Earth-like. It's 2.3 time more massive than Earth, and it orbit a red dwarf. I would not call Venus or Mars "Earth-like", but those two are probably more Earth-like than this exoplanet. Call me when they find something around a orange or yellow star, with a mass close to that of the Earth.
-
250 years to get to the earth like planet? What drugs are we on Forbes?
-
‘just 25 light-years’ from earth, so a mere 236,518,261,814,520 km, or trifling centuries of travel at the fastest conceivable rates
-
It makes you better understand the enormity of the universe when a planet is considered to be "only" 25 light years away. That means that light traveling at 299,792,458 metres per second, still takes 25 years to reach us.
-
F
Astronomers have discovered a new Earth-like exoplanet just 25 light-years from the solar system, offering another promising target in the search for life beyond Earth.