GJ 1214 b is nearly three times as wide and some 300°F hotter than Earth, but it may nonetheless have an abundance of life's most prized commodity: liquid water. Telescopic observations of the planet as it passed in front of its star indicated that GJ 1214 b may be covered with vast, hot oceans, which would remain liquid because of the extreme pressure exerted by the overlying atmosphere. GJ 1214 b also holds the title for orbiting closest to its star-a mere 1.3 million miles away, 1/70 the distance between Earth and the sun. Even though the star GJ 1214 is a puny red dwarf, it would still look 17 times larger from GJ 1214 b than the sun does in our sky.
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