Astronomers have discovered an uncommon star system located just 100 light-years away from us, with six planets huddled immensely close to their host star — so close, in fact, that all their orbits could fit within the distance between Mercury and our sun. Puzzlingly, unlike our own solar system, it appears this newfound slice of the cosmos has remained largely unchanged since its birth over a billion years ago.
"If the galaxy was the Empire State Building, we can only see and detect the planets next to stars that have apartments on our floor," study co-author Enric Palle of the Instituto de Astrofísica de Canarias told reporters during a press briefing. "We just discovered our neighbor."
