Alien Waterworld First of Its Kind Ever Observed

Astronomers have discovered a new type of ocean-covered alien planet that is the only one of its kind ever found inside or outside our solar system.

Researchers at the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics in the northeastern state of Massachusetts describe the planet, called GJ-1214b, as a waterworld surrounded by a thick, steamy atmosphere. They say the exoplanet is nearly three times the diameter of the Earth, and weighs nearly seven times as much.