What are ‘super-Earths’ and could humans live on them?

A super-Earth is just like Earth, but bigger, kind of like a giant cousin to our planet.

Imagine you're playing with building blocks. Earth is one block, and a super-Earth is a bigger block, maybe two or three times as big. These planets are still made mostly of rock, like Earth, so they’re not all gas like Jupiter. They might have stronger gravity because they’re bigger, which means you’d feel heavier on them.

If humans moved to a super-Earth, we would probably need special shoes or even special training to walk and run, just like how astronauts need special suits in space. But otherwise, we could still live there! We might be able to grow the same kinds of plants and build houses out of rock, just like on Earth.

Some scientists think super-Earths might have oceans or even life, just like our planet. That means one day, humans might not only visit them, they might move in! A super-Earth is just like Earth, but bigger, kind of like a giant cousin to our planet.

Imagine you're playing with building blocks. Earth is one block, and a super-Earth is a bigger block, maybe two or three times as big. These planets are still made mostly of rock, like Earth, so they’re not all gas like Jupiter. They might have stronger gravity because they’re bigger, which means you’d feel heavier on them.