Gliese 832 is a red dwarf star located in the constellation Grus, roughly 16 light-years away. This star is already known to harbor Gliese 832 b, a gas giant discovered in 2009.

The newly found alien world, named Gliese 832 c, has an orbital period of 36 days, a mass five times that of Earth’s. According to the astronomers, it receives about the same average energy as Earth does from the Sun.

“If the planet has a similar atmosphere to Earth it may be possible for life to survive, although seasonal shifts would be extreme,” explained Dr Chris Tinney from the University of New South Wales, who is a co-author of the study published in the Astrophysical Journal.

“However, given the large mass of the planet, it seems likely that it would possess a massive atmosphere, which may well render the planet inhospitable. A denser atmosphere would trap heat and could make it more like a super-Venus and too hot for life,” he said.

Gliese 832 c was discovered from its gravitational pull on Gliese 832, which causes the star to wobble slightly.

The astronomers used the Anglo-Australian Telescope to make observations of the planet. Their data were combined with observations from the 6.5m Magellan Telescope and the European Southern Observatory 3.6m telescope.

The Earth Similarity Index (ESI) of Gliese 832 c is comparable to exoplanets Gliese 667C c and Kepler-62 e.

This makes it one of the top three most Earth-like planets according to the ESI and the closest one to Earth of all three, a prime object for follow-up observations.