New exoplanet discovered by astronomers at University of Warwick
A new exoplanet outside the solar system with its own atmosphere has been discovered by astronomers at the University of Warwick.
The university took the lead in the international collaboration that discovered the exoplanet which is about 3 times the size of Earth.
Researchers have nicknamed it the 'Forbidden Planet' because it's been found in what should be a 'Neptunian Desert'.
Dr Richard West, from the Department of Physics at the University of Warwick said: "This planet must be tough - it is right in the zone where we expected Neptune-sized planets could not survive.
"It is truly remarkable that we found a transiting planet via a star dimming by less than 0.2% - this has never been done before by telescopes on the ground, and it was great to find after working on this project for a year.
"We are now scouring out data to see if we can see any more planets in the Neptune Desert - perhaps the desert is greener than was once thought."