First Earth-Like Planet Found!

Scientists have been searching for Exoplanets (planets outside our solar system) for many years now, and have found over 220 of them so far. Even the closest of these planets are so far away, however, that they cannot be directly detected by any technology currently available. But we do have the technology to detect the very subtle effects these planets have on the stars they orbit. Spectroscopic analysis of the light from these stars tells us a surprising amount about the star and the planet that is affecting it. But only if the planet is a massive gas giant many times larger than the largest of our planets, Jupiter, that has enough gravity to produce measurable effects on the star it orbits. So all the planets discovered so far have been giant gas planets, that would have very little chance of supporting any kind of life as we know it.

But now that has all changed. Scientists with the European Space Observatory (ESO) - not NASA this time - turned their telescope toward a small red dwarf star, much smaller, and cooler, and dimmer than our Sun. A star cool and dim enough to allow a solid Earth-like planet to orbit very close to it - close enough to produce measurable effects on the star. And lo and behold they discovered not one, not two, but three planets orbiting this star! And one of these planets is a solid, rocky planet only slightly larger than Earth, circling the star within the habitable zone, where the temperature would allow the presence of liquid water!

The significance of this discovery cannot be overstated. This is huge! This is major! This is an authentic Eureka! moment. A planet just like Earth, with similar size and composition, and similar temperature ranges! And most importantly: the probable presence of liquid water. And where there's liquid water, there's a very good chance there's life! Xavier Delfosse, a member of the team that discovered the planet says, "On the treasure map of the Universe, one would be tempted to mark this planet with an X."

Monday, April 23, 2007, the day the presence of this planet was confirmed, will now be forever remembered as the historic day we first obtained scientific confirmation that there are planets out there just like Earth. Unfortunately, the star is too faint to be seen by anything other than the largest of telescopes, but there are now a great many large telescopes both on Earth and in space, and you can bet that more than a few of these will now be pointed at this red dwarf star, trying to find out as much as possible about the Earth-like planet orbiting it.

Of course, the really BIG question is: Is there life on that planet? Scientists from all over the world will now be putting all their efforts into answering that question. This is without a doubt the most exciting astronomical discovery in a very long time. This week's sky map shows the location of the star - named Gliese 581 - and its small solar system, and although you will not be able to see the star, you can certainly imagine it. It would look very much like the artist's conception below, courtesy of the ESO.

And you can imagine what it would be like to live on such a planet. Instead of the harsh blinding light of a main sequence yellow star like our Sun, 93 million miles away, you would see a much larger, mellow-looking red sun in the sky, only 7 million miles away. And at that close distance, the planet would move around its sun very quickly, so that a year on that planet would last a mere 13 days. Think of all the extra birthdays you would have! Although Gliese 581 is one of the 100 closest stars to Earth, it is still over 20 light years away. Our very fastest spacecraft would take about 17,000 years to reach it. So it's fair to say that we won't be visiting it any time soon.

But we can certainly watch, and listen. Listen especially for radio signals that would indicate the presence of intelligent life. I can already hear the wheels and gears of huge radio telescopes all over the world turning, pointing their dishes towards Gliese 581, and listening. And if you could build an optical telescope big enough, and focused it on this Earth-like planet orbiting Gliese 581, would you see another being, with another telescope... looking back?

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