Astronomers discover potentially habitable planet

Artist’s impression of the planet (Nasa/JPL-Caltech/R Hurt [Caltech-IPAC])

An Earth-like planet with the potential to support human life has been discovered just 40 light-years away.

Named Gliese 12 b, the planet orbits its host star every 12.8 days, and is comparable in size to Venus – so slightly smaller than Earth.