The smallest exoplanet yet found around a sun-like star is a rocky world half the size of Earth and almost identical in size to Mars. Although it is too hot for life, researchers say its discovery boosts the chances of finding other, more life-friendly planets.
The newly discovered planet, called KOI-961.03, periodically passes in front of its parent star, causing a slight dip in its brightness detected by NASA's Kepler space telescope.
Philip Muirhead of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena led a team that made the discovery, which was announced on Wednesday at a meeting of the American Astronomical Society in Austin, Texas.
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