Volcanoes may carpet surface of newfound Earth-size exoplanet

Artist's impression of the newfound exoplanet LP 791-18 d, a roughly Earth-size world that may be quite volcanically active. (Image credit: NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center/Chris Smith (KRBwyle))

A newfound alien world about the size of Earth may be studded with active volcanoes, whose emissions could sustain an atmosphere, a new study reports.

The exoplanet, known as LP 791-18 d, orbits a red dwarf star about 90 light-years from Earth, in the southern constellation Crater. It's slightly larger and more massive than Earth, according to the study team — and it's probably much more volcanically active than our planet.