Astronomers Find Earth-like Planet

Posted by Michael Pinto on Apr 25, 2007 in Science |

Astronomers Find Earth-like Planet

You know I’m half starting to think that while we may never meet alien lifeforms in my lifetime, that there may still be a shot at finding out where a few of them are hanging out:

New ‘super-Earth’ found in space

“Astronomers have found the most Earth-like planet outside our Solar System to date, a world which could have water running on its surface. The planet orbits the faint star Gliese 581, which is 20.5 light-years away in the constellation Libra.

They say the benign temperatures on the planet mean any water there could exist in liquid form, and this raises the chances it could also harbour life. “We have estimated that the mean temperature of this ‘super-Earth’ lies between 0 and 40 degrees Celsius, and water would thus be liquid,” explained Stephane Udry of the Geneva Observatory, lead author of the scientific paper reporting the result.”

…by the way the potential planet is only 20 light years away, so start designing your warp drives now!





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