Researchers at University of California, Irvine (UC Irvine) discover Earth-like exoplanet GJ 3378b

Exam-focused facts from the 7 July 2026 current affairs briefing.

Key facts

A team of astronomers led by the University of California, Irvine (UC Irvine) discovered an Earth-like exoplanet named GJ 3378b.
The planet is located approximately 25 light-years from the Solar System and orbits within its star's habitable zone, also known as the Goldilocks zone.
GJ 3378b is roughly twice the size of Earth and receives about 90 per cent of the radiation from its host star as Earth receives from the Sun.
The discovery was made using the Habitable-zone Planet Finder on the Hobby-Eberly Telescope in Texas and the NEID Spectrometer on the WIYN Telescope at Kitt Peak National Observatory in Arizona.
The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) plans to launch the Habitable Worlds Observatory in the 2040s to determine if planets like GJ 3378b possess atmospheres.