Ohio, April 27 -- A recent study has revealed that super-Earth exoplanets, worlds that are larger than Earth but smaller than Uranus or Neptune, are far more common in the universe than previously believed.

The discovery, made by an international team of researchers using the Korea Microlensing Telescope Network (KMTNet), challenges previous assumptions about the frequency and distribution of these intriguing planets.

The research team, led by astronomers from Ohio State University, Harvard University, and institutions in China and Korea, discovered that super-Earths can orbit as far from their stars as Jupiter orbits the Sun, contradicting the earlier belief that these planets are typically found only in close proximity to their host s...