Most Habitable Planet Outside Solar System Found

World | April 25, 2007, Wednesday // 00:00
Most Habitable Planet Outside Solar System Found This artist rendering is a close description of the Gliese 581 star system, one of the closest to our own sun. photo by European Southern Observatory.

Astronomers found the smallest and most habitable planet outside the solar system, giving new hope to the search for extra-terrestrial life.

The planet, which orbits the star Gliese 581, a red dwarf about 20,5 light years away in the constellation Libra, is five times the size of the Earth, Bloomberg reported.

Although the star is significantly colder than the Sun, the planet is much closer to it and is within what astronomers call the "habitable zone", where surface temperatures are likely to range between 0 and 40 degrees Celsius.

That would allow water to exist in liquid form, which scientists believe to be a key prerequisite for the evolution of living organisms.

``It's the one that resembles the Earth the most, that's why we're so excited,'' Stephane Udry at the Geneva Observatory, who led the team, told Bloomberg.

Astronomers have found more than 200 planets outside the solar system in recent years, but most of them are gas giants in the mould of Jupiter or Saturn.

Rocky planets, like Earth itself, are more likely to meet the conditions for the appearance of life and the astronomers hope that the newly-found planet will display traces of rocky material.

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