News in brief: Possible planet looks habitable

Candidate body pushes limit of astronomical detection

The closest single star like the sun — Tau Ceti, 12 light-years away — may harbor five planets slightly more massive than Earth. One may even lie in the star’s habitable zone.

NOT-SO-DISTANT WORLDS Five alien worlds bathe in the glow of the nearby star Tau Ceti (left) in this artist’s illustration of a reported new planetary system 12 light-years from Earth.