Super-Earth Discovered in Habitable Zone of Nearby Red Dwarf GJ 3998

An international team has discovered a super-Earth, GJ 3998 d, orbiting within the habitable zone of the red dwarf star GJ 3998, located 59 light-years away. The planet, six times the mass of Earth, completes an orbit in 41.8 days and receives only 20% more stellar radiation than Earth receives from the Sun. This proximity makes GJ 3998 d an attractive target for atmospheric characterization, potentially revealing the presence of an atmosphere and even oxygen using future telescopes like the Extremely Large Telescope (ELT) and the Exo Life Finder (ELF). The discovery, part of the HADES program, highlights the prevalence of multi-planetary systems and the potential for finding habitable planets around red dwarfs.