NASA's newest cosmic mystery involves a bizarre, never-before-seen planet that's more than eight times the size of Earth.Dubbed GJ 1214 b, this massive exoplanet, shrouded in mystery by thick clouds, ...

At a distance of 48 light-years in the constellation Ophiuchus lies the exoplanet GJ 1214 b, and its dense carbon dioxide atmosphere categorizes it beyond conventional planetary identification.

Magma ocean planets that contain water – like the earthlike exoplanet GJ 1214 b in this artist’s concept – will only host a tiny fraction of this water on their surface. The majority of it ...