The exoplanet with the greatest possibility of harboring life.

We have data on a new exoplanet located relatively close to us—25 light-years away—orbiting the star GJ3378 in the direction of the constellation Camelopardalis (the Giraffe); the exoplanet is named GJ3378 b. Exoplanets are named after their host star followed by a lowercase letter to avoid confusion with binary star systems; in binary systems, the stars are designated with uppercase A and B, whereas exoplanets take the star's name plus a lowercase letter.

These names are dull, and this particular planet deserves a more personal, beautiful, and romantic name—though I suppose it will get one someday. What you are seeing here are illustrations of "eyeball planets"—planets that are gravitationally locked to their star. There are three types: a hotter one, an intermediate one, and a colder one. I am showing these three because this planet likely falls into this category; it is presumably tidally locked and does not rotate.

We do not know whether it has water, but we do know it lies within the habitable zone. This research was published on June 30 in *The Astrophysical Journal*, and a University of Texas press release titled it: "Nearby super-Earth could be a better candidate for hosting life than previously thought." So, this is a significant and interesting topic.

It is not that this world was just discovered—it was found in 2024—but at the time, its mass was estimated at 5.26 times that of Earth, placing it in the "mini-Neptune" category; in that scenario, it would have been a large, predominantly gaseous world. However, the news now—published on June 30—is that its mass is lower than previously thought: 2.3 times Earth's mass. This means it actually bears a closer resemblance to a rocky super-Earth. This does not imply, however, that its surface gravity is 2.3 times Earth's, as a planet's density is a crucial factor in determining gravity.

For instance, Saturn has 120 times the mass of Earth, yet we do not know its exact density because, unfortunately, the planet does not transit its star, making it impossible to measure its size directly. We do know its mass—determined by the slight gravitational tug it exerts on its star during each orbit—but we can estimate its surface gravity based on the mass-radius relationship for a terrestrial-type planet, resulting in an estimated surface gravity of 1.32 to 1.38g.

That means a person would weigh approximately 32% to 38% more than on Earth; someone weighing 80 kg on Earth would weigh between 105.6 and 130.4 kg on that planet. You would feel a bit weighed down, but it wouldn't hinder your movement, walking, or health—though leaving the planet would be more difficult, as it would require a much more powerful rocket. Nor does this prevent the emergence of life as we know it; if life based on carbon molecules and liquid water were to arise there, we could find organisms similar in size to those on Earth. Furthermore, if the atmosphere were as dense as ours, flying creatures could easily exist there.

What is the star like? It is a red dwarf—small and cool—with one-quarter of the Sun's mass (specifically, 26% of the solar mass). Crucially, however, it appears to be a stable star; a weak magnetic field has been detected, and its rotation is slow. The estimated rotation period is between 83 and 95 days. For comparison, our Sun rotates much faster—averaging 27 days. It varies from 25 days at the equator to 35 days at the poles, but the average is 27.

The fact that it rotates slowly and has a weak magnetic field is a good thing. While red dwarfs are not inherently stormy, explosive, or constant flare-emitters by nature, the vast majority of them are young. Like the Sun—or any star of any type—young stars experience flares, disturbances, storms, and intense brightness fluctuations; they are volatile. However, the key point is that red dwarfs are the longest-lived stars, surviving 10, 20, or even 30 times longer than the Sun. Consequently, their "youthful" phase lasts a very long time, which explains why so many red dwarfs exhibit flaring activity. A prime example is our nearest neighbor, Proxima Centauri; it hosts an exoplanet in the habitable zone—a rocky world with a mass similar to Earth's that could potentially harbor liquid water on its surface—but, unfortunately, Proxima Centauri produces powerful flares that scorch that poor planet.

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