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the estimated 7-Earth-mass exoplanet receives around 62-67% of the radiation that Earth gets from the Sun

HD 40307 g is still a candidate

observations are needed to not only confirm its existence but also to find out exactly what kind of planet it may be

into the star's water-friendly "Goldilocks" zone

HARPS (High Accuracy Radial velocity Planet Searcher) on ESO's La Silla 3.6m telescope is a dedicated exoplanet hunter

detect the

slight wobble of a star caused by the gravitational tug of orbiting planets

HD 40307 g is located far enough away from its star to likely not be tidally locked

it wouldn't have one side subject to constant heat and radiation while its other "far side" remains cold and dark

the estimated 7-Earth-mass exoplanet receives around 62% of the radiation that Earth gets from the Sun

HD 40307 g is still a candidate—more observations are needed to not only confirm its existence but also to find out exactly what kind of planet it may be.

more detailed characterization of this candidate is very unlikely using ground based studies because it is very unlikely [sic] to transit the star, and a direct imaging mission seems the most promising way of learning more

just finding potential Earth-sized worlds in a system like HD 40307′s is a big deal for planetary scientists

thought to harbor only three planets

sensitive data-filtering methods revealed the presence of three more

farthest-out of these lies in a “sweet spot

detected the new planets from changes in the light of the host star as the planets’ gravity tugged on it.

Instead of analyzing all the light from the star

the scientists split the light into different wavelengths to pick out the planets’ signals from those

able to look more deeply into the data and detect weaker signals

Nothing is known yet about the new planet’s physical and geochemical properties

a good target for a space-based imaging mission,

because it is so close to Earth