Astronomers have found a star with up to seven exoplanets orbiting it.

A team has been studying the star HD 10180 for six years, using the European Southern Observatory’s (ESO) telescopes in Chile. The star is located 127 light years away, in the Hydrus constellation.

By measuring the motion of the star caused by the objects orbiting it, scientists have worked out that there are at least five exoplanets in the system. They orbit the star in times ranging from six to 600 days, and are known as exoplanets because they are planets outside our solar system.

The results also suggest that two other planets are present. If the scientists are right, one of these planets would be the size of Saturn and would take over six years to orbit the star. The other would be a similar size to the Earth and a ‘year’ would last just 1.18 of our days. This planet would be the smallest exoplanet ever discovered if the results are confirmed.

The results also show that the distance from the star to the exoplanets follows a pattern, which could be a rule that all solar systems follow when they form.