It is located in a star system less than 20 light-years away, making it one of the closest candidates for further research.

HD 20794 d completes its orbit just shy of two Earth years, placing it well within reach of conditions that might harbor life.

An exoplanet is a planet outside our solar system that usually orbits a star in our galaxy. More than 7,000 have been found in the Milky Way since the first confirmed discovery in the 1990s, and "billions more remain to be discovered", said Tech Explorist.