For centuries, men have wondered whether we are alone in this universe or there are other living beings similar to us in the giant cosmos. While science fictions have delved into the world of extra-terrestrials, but astronomers are yet to discover anything close to it. In a new study presented at the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) in Boston, astronomers say that they are optimist about finding a large number of earth-like planets in our Milky Way galaxy and even in galaxies in the vicinity of Milky Way. The evidence of the existence of a large number of Sun-like stars with discs of cosmic dust around them suggests existence of a large number of planetary systems. The cosmic dusts are rocky debris, the by-products of planets formed by collision and merging of giant rocks.
NASA’s Kepler mission due to be launched next year is expected to bring news about the undiscovered worlds. The precondition for the existence of life lies in the earth-like planets lying at the right distance from its parent star so that its surface is not too hot or too cold to support liquid water, the zone astronomer’s call the ‘Goldilock’s zone’.
The most Earth-like planet yet to be explored by astronomers is a planet 20.5 light-years away in the constellation of Libra. The discovery that was made last year detected the planet orbiting around the faint star Gliese 581. The mean temperature of this planet, Gliese 581c is between 0 to 40 degrees Celsius that is capable of maintaining water in the liquid state.
The most Earth-like planet yet to be explored by astronomers is a planet 20.5 light-years away in the constellation of Libra. The discovery that was made last year detected the planet orbiting around the faint star Gliese 581. The mean temperature of this planet, Gliese 581c is between 0 to 40 degrees Celsius that is capable of maintaining water in the liquid state.