Astronomers have detected an Earth-like exoplanet that may have just the right kind of conditions to support life.
Gliese 581g lies some 20 light-years away in its star’s “Goldilocks zone” – a region surface temperatures would allow the presence of liquid water.
Scientists say that the newly found world could also potentially have an atmosphere.
Their findings, made with the Keck telescope in Hawaii, appear in the Astrophysical Journal.
Nice, 20 light years is almost doable, in theory.
The planet’s average surface temperature is estimated to be between -12C and -31C.
But unlike Earth, this alien world has one side always facing its sun and the other side constantly in the dark. So in-between the two sides, between shadow and light, there could be an area where life could potentially thrive.
“Any emerging life forms would have a wide range of stable climates to choose from and to evolve around, depending on their longitude,” said Dr Vogt.
Living on a planet like that might actually be kinda cool. There really wouldn’t be a concept of day or night, as the amount of sunlight one is exposed to would have a direct and constant correlation to one’s position. Real estate prices would be (ha!) astronomical in the “eternal twilight” zones and solar power would be the way to go.
Exciting stuff.
Robot Pirate Ninja 