50 New Exoplanets Discovered And At Least One Could Sustain Life

Scientists have identified more than 50 new exoplanets (planets outside our solar system), including 16 super-Earths (planets whose mass is between one and 10 times that of our own planet) and at least one planet that could potentially hold life.

It's called HD 85512 b, and is about 3.6 times the mass of the Earth. This planet is about 35 light years from Earth and could have liquid water under certain circumstances.

So far, scientists have confirmed the existence of 564 planets outside of our solar system not counting this latest batch of more than 50. Beyond that however, NASA's Kepler mission has found more than 1,200 exoplanets. Click here for the CNN articel >>>>> http://lightyears.blogs.cnn.com/2011/09/13/16-super-earths-found-outside-solar-system/?hpt=hp_c1

Breaking News! A New Planet Has Been Discovered!

This just in from CNN. A new planet was discovered called Gliese 581g. Astronomers from the University of California and the Carnegie Institute of Washington say they've found a planet like ours, 20 light years (120 trillion miles) from Earth. Steven Vogt, a UC professor of astronomy and astrophysics says "The chances for life on this planet are 100 percent and I have almost no doubt about it.".
 The planet is three times the size of Earth and the atmosphere and gravity are similar to Earth. The planet doesn't have a night and day because one side continually faces the star, so one side is really hot and the other very cold.
Gliese 581g is a rocky planet that orbits a red dwarf star called Gliese 581. It is in the constellation of Libra. While Earth takes 365 days to orbit our star, Gliese 581g orbits its star in 37 days. Click here for the article from CNN >>>>> http://news.blogs.cnn.com/2010/09/30/100-percent-chance-for-life-on-newly-found-planet/?hpt=C2