Scientists Discover First Planet Outside Our Solar System That Could Support Earth-Like Life

Scientists say that they have discovered a planet 20 light years way that would be the first outside of our solar system to be deemed habitable. The exoplanet Gliese 581d has conditions which could support Earth-like life, including potentially watery oceans and rainfall.

If the inhabitants of Earth were ever actually able to reach this distant plant, however, they would find a much different world than what they know. The sky is likely to be a murky red, instead of Earth's brilliant blue, and gravity is twice what is on Earth, which would double the weight of anyone standing on the planet's surface. The planet's carbon dioxide-rich atmosphere would also not be breathable by humans.

Scientists themselves were surprised by the discovery as Gliese 581d had previously been ruled out as a habitable planet candidate. New computer models capable of simulating extraterrestrial climates has shown that assumption to be wrong, and confirmed that Gliese 581d could support life.

Researchers believe that this finding could lead the way to additional discoveries of places that could support life outside of our solar system.

Dr Robin Wordsworth, a member of the French team from the Institut Pierre Simon Laplace in Paris, said:

"This discovery is important because it's the first time climate modellers have proved that the planet is potentially habitable, and all observers agree that the exoplanet exists. If you look at the history of the search for habitable planets, there's been at least two instances so far when scientists have announced that a habitable world has been discovered, only to have the claim contradicted later, either by climate experts or by other observers.

The Gliese system is particularly exciting to us as it's very close to Earth, relatively speaking. So with future generations of telescopes, we'll be able to search for life on Gliese 581d directly.

This said, the fact that a planet so unlike the Earth could be habitable bodes pretty well for the search for life in general.

I think it's becoming clearer with every discovery we make in exoplanet science that the variety of worlds out there in the universe is going to be far greater than the few examples we are used to from our Solar System."