Nasa astronomers have confirmed that they have discovered the nearest rocky planet outside of our own solar system.
The new-found planet is bigger than Earth, but is too close to its own star to sustain life. It is just 21 light years away and is the closest extopanet to Earth to be detected.
They have named it 'HD 219134b'.
In a statement, Nasa said that the find could prove to be a "potential gold mine of science data."
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Lead scientist Michael Gillon said of the discovery: "Thanks to Nasa's Kepler mission, we know super-Earths are ubiquitous in our galaxy, but we still know very little about them.
"Now we have a local specimen to study in greater detail. It can be considered a kind of Rosetta Stone for the study of super-Earths."
Michael Werner, project scientist at Nasa, added: "Transiting exoplanets are worth their weight in gold because they can be extensively characterized.
"This exoplanet will be one of the most studied for decades to come."
