Dave Mosher
Published July 19, 2012
Discovery takes scientists by surprise.
Magma may cover UCF-1.01, which orbits scorchingly close to its star, as shown in an artist's concept.
Illustration courtesy R. Hurt, SSC/Caltech/NASA
In a surprise find, astronomers have discovered a planet possibly covered with oceans of magma "right around the corner."
Even more exciting to scientists is its size: about the same as Mars's, which would make the new world the closest known planet smaller than Earth.
Researchers using NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope essentially stumbled upon the new planet while studying a hot, Neptune-size planet called GJ 436b.
To read the rest of this story and see the video, visit National Geographic.
