Vogt and Butler ran some calculations, with giant fudge factors built in, and figured that as much as one out of five to 10 stars in the universe have planets that are Earth-sized and in the habitable zone. That close proximity and the way it was found so early in astronomers' search for habitable planets hints to scientists that planets like Earth are probably not that rare. It may seem like a long distance, but in the scheme of the vast universe, this planet is "like right in our face, right next door to us," Vogt said in an interview. It's about 120 trillion miles away, so it would take several generations for a spaceship to get there. The planet circles a star called Gliese 581. The astronomers' findings are being published in Astrophysical Journal and were announced by the National Science Foundation on Wednesday. But because conditions are ideal for liquid water, and because there always seems to be life on Earth where there is water, Vogt believes "that chances for life on this planet are 100 percent." It's unknown whether water actually exists on the planet, and what kind of atmosphere it has. Temperatures can be as hot as 160 degrees or as frigid as 25 degrees below zero, but in between - in the land of constant sunrise - it would be "shirt-sleeve weather," said co-discoverer Steven Vogt of the University of California at Santa Cruz. And it doesn't rotate much, so one side is almost always bright, the other dark. It's so close to its version of the sun that it orbits every 37 days. It is about three times the mass of Earth, slightly larger in width and much closer to its star - 14 million miles away versus 93 million. Even a simple single-cell bacteria or the equivalent of shower mold would shake perceptions about the uniqueness of life on Earth.īut there are still many unanswered questions about this strange planet. He said this planet is a "pretty prime candidate" for harboring life. "This is the first one I'm truly excited about," said Penn State University's Jim Kasting. But this one is so clearly in the right zone that five outside astronomers told The Associated Press it seems to be the real thing. Scientists have jumped the gun before on proclaiming that planets outside our solar system were habitable only to have them turn out to be not quite so conducive to life. And it is in our galactic neighborhood, suggesting that plenty of Earth-like planets circle other stars.įinding a planet that could potentially support life is a major step toward answering the timeless question: Are we alone? The new planet sits smack in the middle of what astronomers refer to as the habitable zone, unlike any of the nearly 500 other planets astronomers have found outside our solar system. Paul Butler of the Carnegie Institution of Washington. "This really is the first Goldilocks planet," said co-discoverer R. The planet itself is neither too big nor too small for the proper surface, gravity and atmosphere. Not too far from its star, not too close. WASHINGTON (AP) - Astronomers say they have for the first time spotted a planet beyond our own in what is sometimes called the Goldilocks zone for life: Not too hot, not too cold.
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