Astronomers have smashed the record for the smallest planet beyond our Solar System - finding one only slightly larger than our Moon.
To spot the tiny, probably rocky planet, they first needed to precisely measure the size of its host star.
They did so using "astroseismology" - effectively, turning tiny variations in the star's light into sounds.
A report in Nature describes the blistering, probably rocky planet, which orbits its star in just 13 days.
It is joined in this far-flung solar system by two other planets, one three-quarters Earth's size and one twice as large as Earth.
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Exoplanets
An exoplanet is a planet that exists outside our Solar System
Most are giant planets believed to resemble Jupiter or Neptune
The first exoplanet was discovered in 1992, orbiting a pulsar
A few years later, the planet 51 Pegasi B was found orbiting a star similar to the Sun
Hundreds of extrasolar planets have been found since
Watch planet hunters search for exoplanets
The record for smallest "exoplanet" is routinely being broken, as astronomers get better and better at finding them.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-21471908
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