Scientists Find a Planet with Liquid Water

We have finally found a planet that is a true candidate for life. This article announces the discovery of a planet only twice the size of the Earth. It orbits the sun Gilese 581 20.5 light-years away. The planet appears to have liquid water on it, and its mass also indicates that the planet is either rocky or covered in oceans. As far as we know water is necessary for life to arise, and this planet fits the bill. It is even within the habitable zone of its star. In this system that is a lot closer than the Earth to the Sun, but this star is a red dwarf and therefore is a lot colder. The planet discovered orbits in 13 days, which is quite short. Its close orbit is the reason we could find it. Astronomers found the planet in the same way that other extrasolar planets have been found: by their effect on the parent star. This makes it extremely unlikely that we will find a planet as far out from it star as the Earth. To find those we will need a new method. Also, we cannot find anything else out really about the planet. We will have to go there to actually see if there is life there, so ultimately, all of these discoveries of possibly habitable planets is just a tease as we probably will not be going outside the solar system any time soon.