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.

It is believed that the planet, named HD 20794 d, is at just the right distance from its star to sustain water on its surface, but because this distance changes over the course of its elliptical rather than circular orbit it is too early to say whether it could host life.

UK researchers have confirmed the existence of a “super Earth” located 20 light-years away that could reveal the existence of extraterrestrial beings.

Found by Dr Michael Cretignier of the University of Oxford, the planet has a mass six times greater than Earth's and orbits in a "habitable zone" of a star similar to the sun.

Astronomers have discovered another exoplanet that may have favourable conditions for the existence of liquid water. We are talking about HD 20794 d – a planet belonging to the group of so-called super-Earths.

Astronomers have officially confirmed the existence of HD 20794 d, a super-Earth located just 20 light-years away, with conditions that could make it one of the most promising exoplanets for life beyond our solar system.