Astronomers have discovered a new Super-Earth planet that's nearly as old as the universe itself, but despite what the name might indicate, the words "Super Earth" only speak to the exoplanet's size as this new planet doesn't have many similarities to Earth. This new Super Earth is called TOI-561b and it's 50% larger than Earth, according to UC Riverside News. It orbits its star in less than half a day though, despite how much larger it is than Earth, which orbits its star, the Sun, every 365 days. TOI-561b is, all things considered, quite different from Earth, but the reason it's called a Super Earth is almost exclusively because of its size. [widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="albumSlug=gorgeous-photos-of-earth-from-space&captions=true"] "Super-Earths — a class of planets unlike any in our solar system — are more massive than Earth yet lighter than ice giants like Neptune and Uranus, and can be made of gas, rock, or a combination of both," according to NASA's official definition of a Super Earth. "They are between twice the size of Earth and up to 10 times its mass. Super-Earth is a reference only to an exoplanet's size — larger than Earth and smaller than Neptune — but not suggesting they are necessarily similar to our home planet." UC Riverside planetary astrophysicist, Stephen Kane, said that for every day we spend on Earth, TOI-561b orbits its star twice. The reason for this quick orbit is due to the heat created by the planet's close proximity to the star it orbits. TOI-561b's temperature is over 2000 degrees Kelvin, which is obviously too hot for life as we know it to exist on the planet. The other reason for the speedy orbit is due to the planet's density, which is roughly the same as Earth's. "This is surprising because you'd expect the density to be higher," Kane said. "This is consistent with the notion that the planet is extremely old." [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2021/01/08/scientist-says-object-that-flew-by-earth-could-have-been-made-by-aliens-ign-news"] The older a planet is, the less dense it generally is and that's because the materials that make a planet dense simply weren't as abundant the farther back in time you go. The materials that eventually form dense planets are heavy elements that are produced by fusion reactions in stars as they age, according to UC Riverside News. When stars explode, the elements are scattered outward and those elements form new stars and new planets. Because TOI-561b is not nearly as dense as expected, the astronomers that discovered the Super Earth believe it to be as old as the universe itself as at that point in time, heavy elements to create a more dense planet would not have been as readily available as less stars were exploding since they weren't as old. For more science, read about how the Earth is spinning faster than it has in 50 years and then check out this story about how the Moon is rusting. Read about how a space object that passed by Earth was likely from aliens after that, and then read this story about how researchers are trying to turn Mars green. [poilib element="accentDivider"] Wesley LeBlanc is a freelance news writer and guide maker for IGN. You can follow him on Twitter @LeBlancWes. 

The Hearthstone team today revealed the game’s first “mini-set” – The Darkmoon Races, which is a collection of 35 brand new cards that will be hitting the game on January 21 in NA (January 22 in Asia Pacific). Typically, the Hearthstone team releases three large sets of cards each year, with balance adjustments and special events in-between to help keep the game feeling fresh, so this mid-meta card injection represents a fresh approach. The cards feature mechanics from all three sets released during the Year of the Phoenix - Ashes of Outland, Scholomance Academy and Madness at the Darkmoon Faire – so that means more dual-class cards, dormant minions, spellburst effects and cards that can be corrupted. The set as a whole contains four legendaries, one epic, 14 rare and 16 common cards and you can see them all below. [widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="albumSlug=hearthstones-darkmoon-races-full-set&captions=true"] Once the set has been released, the cards will start showing up in Madness at the Darkmoon Faire card packs. Players can also, however, simply purchase the entire set as it will be available as a bundle for either $14.99 USD ($19.95 AUD) or 2000 gold. This will contain 66 cards in total - two copies of each common, rare and epic card, as well as one copy of each legendary card. The bundle will be in the Hearthstone shop until May 11. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2020/10/24/hearthstone-madness-at-the-darkmoon-faire-cinematic-trailer"] Elsewhere in the world of Blizzard, the Battle.net client has had its first major overhaul in eight years, and we had a hell of a good time with the Diablo Immortal technical alpha. [poilib element="accentDivider"] Cam Shea is IGN's AU Studio Lead and has a serious soft spot for rave era breakbeat . He also played more Breath of the Wild than any other game last year. Catch him on Twitter. Maybe.

This week in Red Dead Online, claim special Moonshiner and Naturalist bonuses, as well as free bonuses for logging in.

Fortnite's next collaboration brings in the world of Soccer to the battle royale game, and it includes a partnership with the soccer legend Pelé and outfits from some of the biggest clubs in the world. While the Kickoff Set of club outfits and Pelé's Air Punch Emote will be available to everyone on January 23, players will be able to participate in the Pelé Cup on January 20 for a chance to win both Pelé's emote and the Kickoff Set for free. Top scorers will also have a chance to win a customized signed shirt. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2021/01/19/fortnite-pel-air-punch-emote-trailer"] Much like the NFL outfits that were previously released for Fortnite, the Kickoff Set includes 10 variants of male and female outfits and each outfit can be swapped out for any of the 23 soccer clubs participating at any time. The full list includes;

• Manchester City FC
• Juventus
• AC Milan
• Inter Milan
• AS Roma
• Seattle Sounders FC
• Atlanta United FC
• Los Angeles FC
• Santos FC
• Wolverhampton Wanderers FC
• West Ham United FC
• Sevilla FC
• Sporting CP
• Borussia Mönchengladbach
• FC Schalke 04
• VFL Wolfsburg
• Rangers FC
• Celtic FC
• Cerezo Osaka
• Melbourne City FC
• Sydney GC
• Western Sydney Wanderers
• EC Bahia

[widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="albumSlug=fortnite-football-club-kit-skins&captions=true"] In addition, there will also be a soccer-inspired Creative island featured in the Creative Hub that will see players use "their bodies, Pickaxes, power-ups, speed boosts and more to try to outscore their opponents and come out the winner in this 4v4 bracket style gamemode." Each game will last two rounds, with the winners advancing to face each out and the 3rd and 4th-placing teams facing each other in a consolation match. [poilib element="accentDivider"] Have a tip for us? Want to discuss a possible story? Please send an email to newstips@ign.com. Adam Bankhurst is a news writer for IGN. You can follow him on Twitter @AdamBankhurst and on Twitch.

Best known for his theory of universal gravitation, Isaac Newton was one of the most famous scientists of his time. But he kept some of his ideas private and unpublished, including his work on alchemy, apocalypses, and Egypt’s Great Pyramid. Some of his notes on these topics were recently sold at auction for £378,000.

The notes date to around 1680, when Newton was looking for proof of his theory of gravity. “Today, these seem disparate areas of study–but they didn’t seem that way to Newton in the 17th century,” Gabriel Heaton, Sotheby’s manuscript specialist, told the Observer.

Newton believed the ancient Greeks knew how to correctly measure the circumference of the Earth. In the intervening centuries, humans had lost the knowledge of how to measure and what the stade represented, he thought. One measurement put the circumference at 400,000 stades, a unit he would need to convert to be of any use to his theory of gravity.

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Newton also wanted to understand the cubit, the measurement the Egyptians had used when building the Great Pyramid. He combed through ancient sources and studied John Greaves's Pyramidographia (1646), trying to calculate the size of bricks and dimensions of tunnels. The cubit would allow him to reconstruct, if only figuratively, Solomon’s Temple, supposedly the site of the apocalypse.

“An exact knowledge of the Temple's architecture and dimensions was therefore needed to correctly interpret the Bible's deep and hidden meanings,” according to Sotheby's auction listing for Newton’s notes.

Newton’s deep interest in alchemy didn’t become widely known until well after his death, when the Earl of Portsmouth bought his papers in 1936. In 2018, his “recipe” for making a philosopher’s stone went up for auction. "Newton was intensely interested in alchemy almost his whole life," James Voelkel, curator of rare books at Othmer Library of Chemical History, told The Washington Post in 2016. "These alchemical manuscripts consist of about a million words he wrote in his own hands."

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The notes that were sold are actually a little singed. The story is that Newton’s dog set them alight when he knocked a candle over – essentially the 17th-century version of “the dog ate my alchemy homework.”

If you're looking for more news on anything apocalypse-related, check out the heartbreaking secret behind Marvel's Apocalypse's Villainy, and pack up your treasure-hunting goods since National Treasure 3 is in development.

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Jenny McGrath is a science writer for IGN. She never tweets, but here she is @JennyMcGeez.

DC fans waiting for the upcoming relaunch of the DC Universe streaming platform don't have much longer to wait. DC has revealed a January 21 launch date for the rebranded DC Universe Infinite service. As previously reported, DC Universe Infinite will remove the video library of its predecessor, instead transforming into a comic book-focused subscription service with a library of over 25,000 issues. New DC Comics titles will now be added to the Infinite library six months after release rather than a full year. That library will actually be growing with the switchover to DCU Infinite, with DC adding a number of mature readers titles from their Vertigo, Wildstorm and DC Black Label imprints that were never included with DC Universe. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2018/09/14/dc-universe-review-is-the-subscription-service-worth-the-price"] Some of these long-awaited additions include Brian Azzarello and Lee Bermejo's Joker, Luthor and Batman: Damned graphic novels, Tom King and Mitch Gerads' Mister Miracle, Frank Miller and John Romita, Jr.'s Superman: Year One, Alan Moore and David Lloyd's V for Vendetta, horror novelist Joe Hill's entire Hill House Comics lineup and the complete runs of Ex Machina, Hellblazer, Preacher, 100 Bullets, iZombie and Lucifer. DC will also begin adding Milestone Media titles to the library for the first time, including Static, Hardware and Icon. In addition to these new titles, DC Universe Infinite will feature a rotating lineup of free comics for non-subscribers. The initial lineup will include:

• All-Star Superman #1
• The New Teen Titans (1980) #1
• Suicide Squad (2016) #1
• Green Lantern (2011) #29
• Aquaman (2011) #1
• Shazam (2011) #1
• Green Arrow: Year One #1
• Black Lightning: Year One #1
• Justice League (2011) #1
• Wonder Woman (2016) #1
• The Flash (2016) #1
• Batman (2011) #1

Once DC Universe Infinite launches, subscribers will find a completely redesigned user interface and a number of new tools designed to make searching for books and recommendations easier. The official DC Comics website has also been given a facelift. “This is just the beginning of DC UNIVERSE INFINITE’s transformation,” said Pam Lifford, President of Global Brands and Experiences at Warner Bros, in a statement. “Our fans will have access to a rich collection of their favorite comic books and publishing while connecting with a community that loves the same DC characters and brands.” Like its predecessor, DC Universe Infinite is priced at $7.99 per month or $74.99 for a 12-month subscription. The service is available through the web or on Android and iOS devices. [widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="albumSlug=after-future-state-every-new-dc-comics-series-confirmed-for-2021&captions=true"] Though DC Universe as we know it is going away, most of the existing live-action and animated series will be migrating over to HBO Max. That includes Doom Patrol, which was recently greenlit for a third season. We also recently got our first glimpse of Titans: Season 3, which will feature Jason Todd's transformation into Red Hood and the debuts of both Barbara Gordon and Scarecrow. In addition to becoming the new home for these shows and others like Young Justice: Phantoms and Harley Quinn: Season 3, HBO Max will also feature several new DC series, at least two of which will be direct prequels to upcoming DC movies. Gotham PD is a prequel to 2022's The Batman, exploring the corruption plaguing Gotham during Batman's first year on the job. Meanwhile, Peacemaker is a spinoff of 2021's The Suicide Squad starring John Cena's patriotic killer. [poilib element="accentDivider"] Jesse is a mild-mannered staff writer for IGN. Allow him to lend a machete to your intellectual thicket by following @jschedeen on Twitter.

Welcome back to Game Scoop!, IGN's weekly video game podcast. This week your Omega Cops -- Daemon Hatfield, Tina Amini, Sam Claiborn, and Justin Davis -- are discussing all the Lucasfilm Games news from this week: Ubisoft's Star Wars and Bethesda's Indiana Jones. Oh yeah, they also have a Super Mario 3D World reaction and Video Game 20 Questions, too. This episode features music from Metroid, Super Metroid, and Streets of Rage. Watch the video above or hit the link below to your favorite podcast service. Listen on: Apple Podcasts YouTube Spotify Stitcher   Find previous episodes here!

CMP Shells, the company that had to cancel its customers' orders for custom PlayStation 5 shells last year, is selling its shells again. The PS5 custom plate maker has three designs available in its store ranging in price from $49.99 to $69.99, depending on what you want, and they're expected to arrive at the end of February. Last time CMP Shells was selling PS5 shells, they sold out quickly and it wasn't long before Sony got involved and pressured the company to cancel all sales. That shouldn't happen this time, according to CMP Shells. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2020/11/19/ps5-owners-are-making-their-own-custom-plates-ign-daily-fix"] "The patent is pending and all sales finalized before it's approved are untouchable," CMP Shells says in its frequently-asked question of whether or not the company will get sued by Sony. "We didn't know before. Now we do. Further, we have not replicated anyone's proprietary design. Our shells improve upon the original by allowing for more ventilation. We will be able to sell even after the patent is approved." CMP Shells is currently selling three shells: an all-black shell for the PS5 for $49.99, that same shell with a matching DualSense controller shell for $69.99, and a Kratos bundle for $69.99 that features the insignia from the God of War: Ragnarok trailer shown last year. These three choices are all that CMP Shells is currently selling. When CMP Shells had to cancel its orders last year, it was confident it would return in some capacity. It said last year that next time the plates go up for sale, it won't have any doubt that they're there "for the long haul." There is no official word from Sony in regards to CMP Shells selling its shells again at the time of this writing. Catch up on the history of CMP Shells and its last run of PS5 shells and then watch this video about PS5 owners who are making their own custom plates. [poilib element="accentDivider"] Wesley LeBlanc is a freelance news writer and guide maker for IGN. You can follow him on Twitter @LeBlancWes. 

Dwayne Johnson has unveiled the first trailer for Young Rock, an upcoming NBC sitcom based on his life. The wrestler-turned-actor gave his Instagram followers a first look at his new biographical sitcom by posting a trailer for the series, which will be coming to NBC on Tuesday, February 16, with a pilot co-written by Nahnatchka Khan and Jeff Chiang. The 11-episode series will also be added to NBC's streaming service Peacock. "Ladies and gents, here's your first look at NBC's Young Rock," Johnson wrote in the caption of his post. "I really wish my dad was around to see this one. Maaaaan he would've been proud. And yes, I was clearly kicking puberty's ass at 15yrs old and becoming a tequila tycoon by the time I was 10. I can't wait to make you and your families laugh a little and share some life lessons I've learned along the way." The teaser shares a glimpse of Johnson's "wild and unpredictable childhood and formative years," with three actors cast to portray him at various stages of his life. Adrian Groulx stars as 10-year-old "little Dewey" (a nickname given to Johnson by his Godparents) while Bradley Constant plays the 15-year-old version of The Rock, and Uli Latukefu steps onto the field as the 20-year-old college football player. [widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="albumSlug=dwayne-the-rock-johnsons-10-best-movies&captions=true"] The upcoming series is said to chart Johnson's childhood "from growing up in a strong and resilient family, to being surrounded by the wild characters of his professional wrestling family, to playing football at the University of Miami. It will explore the rollercoaster that has shaped Johnson into the man he is today and the larger-than-life characters he's met along the way." Young Rock premieres on NBC on February 16. After you've learned all about his origin story, you might want to watch him in Red Notice, a new action-comedy thriller coming to Netflix this year. Johnson reportedly earned an estimated $23.5 million for starring in the movie alongside Ryan Reynolds and Gal Gadot, which contributed to his status as the world's highest-paid actor for the second consecutive year. [poilib element="accentDivider"] Adele Ankers is a Freelance Entertainment Journalist. You can reach her on Twitter.

The Muppet Show will be available to stream on Disney+ starting February 19. The Muppets Twitter account promises "all five seasons" will be made available - totalling 120 episodes, dating from 1976-1981. This marks the first time the original Muppets show will be available on any streaming service. The first three seasons of the show were released exclusively on DVD by Disney, but seasons 4 and 5 never saw release. The show has also never appeared on any digital outlets like iTunes or Amazon for purchase.

Play the music! Light the lights! ALL FIVE SEASONS of The Muppet Show are coming exclusively to @DisneyPlus! Why don't we get things started on February 19? pic.twitter.com/mGgWRBa9Yp

— The Muppets (@TheMuppets) January 19, 2021

The first three seasons were originally released on DVD with various scenes edited out. Most of those scenes revolved around licensed songs, which has led fans to believe that music rights restrictions are to blame. It will be interesting to see what Disney was able to restore in the new streaming world - after all, the tweet promises they will "Play the music!" The Muppets first appeared on kid-friendly TV shows like Sam and Friends and Sesame Street as well as adult late-night shows like The Ed Sullivan Show and Saturday Night Live, before landing a show of their own. The Muppets Show ran from the late '70s to the early '80s with sketch comedy that was meant to appeal to children and adults. The show received non-stop critical acclaim throughout its run including four Emmy Awards out of 21 nominations and three BAFTA Awards out of nine nominations. The series was also awarded a Peabody Award for "maintaining a consistently high standard for family viewing on American television." Various Muppet movies, video games and theme park attractions followed, and the brand is still active almost 50 years after the show's run. [widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="albumSlug=disney-spotlight-january-2020&captions=true"] A new Muppets show, Muppets Now, was released on Disney+ in 2020. IGN's review of the Muppets Now premiere said the show is, "a sweet and silly reimagining of The Muppets for the digital age." There were talks in 2019 of another new Muppets show for Disney+, but that project was reportedly not moving forward due to creative differences between the show's writers and Disney. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2020/06/24/disney-plus-muppets-now-official-teaser-trailer"] [poilib element="accentDivider"] Petey Oneto is a freelance writer for IGN who will binge this show until Disney does more with the Muppets and is still mad that people let Muppets Most Wanted bomb in theaters.