What is YZ Ceti b?

About YZ Ceti b:

• It is a rocky earth-sized exoplanet rotating around a small red dwarf star.
• It is barely 12 light-years from Earth.
• The astronomers determined that the planet takes just a couple of Earth days to circle its star.

Why does the magnetic field matter?

• The survival of a planet’s atmosphere may well depend on its strong magnetic field.
• The magnetic field protects the planet’s atmosphere from being eroded by the charged particles blowing in from its star.

Key Facts about the Exoplanets

• These are also called extrasolar planets.
• These are a planetary body which is outside the solar systemand that usually orbit a star other than the Sun. 
• Exoplanets come in a wide variety of sizes, from gas giants larger than Jupiter to small, rocky planets about as big around as Earth or Mars.
• These are made up of elements similar to those of the planets in our solar system, but their mixes of those elements may differ.
• Most exoplanets are found through indirect methods: measuring the dimming of a star that happens to have a planet pass in front of it, called the transit method