Fifth planet is 'exciting next step'

The discovery of a fifth planet circling a star beyond our solar system marks “an exciting next step in the search for worlds like our own”, astronomers said today.

The new planet has nearly the same mass and age as our sun, is “easily visible” with binoculars, and is located in a so-called “habitable zone,” a band around the star where the temperature would permit liquid water to pool on solid surfaces, NASA said.