Space & Astronomy

First 'alien Earth' to be found this year ?

By T.K. Randall
January 3, 2013 ·  25 comments

Image Credit: NASA So far astronomers have identified at least 800 planets around distant stars and that figure will continue to grow as planet hunting techniques improve. NASA's Kepler Space Telescope has been invaluable in the search, with several thousand potential targets flagged for further study and astronomers confident that as many as 80% of those will prove to be positive matches.

While many planets have been found that are thought to be potentially Earth-like, none have been close enough to be classed as a genuine 'alien Earth'. This is likely to change however and such a discovery could be made within the next 12 months. "I'm very positive that the first Earth twin will be discovered [this] year," said Abel Mendez of the Arecibo Planetary Habitability Laboratory.[!gad]So far astronomers have identified at least 800 planets around distant stars and that figure will continue to grow as planet hunting techniques improve. NASA's Kepler Space Telescope has been invaluable in the search, with several thousand potential targets flagged for further study and astronomers confident that as many as 80% of those will prove to be positive matches.

While many planets have been found that are thought to be potentially Earth-like, none have been close enough to be classed as a genuine 'alien Earth'. This is likely to change however and such a discovery could be made within the next 12 months. "I'm very positive that the first Earth twin will be discovered [this] year," said Abel Mendez of the Arecibo Planetary Habitability Laboratory.

Source: Huffington Post | Comments (25)

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