Corot-7b
In Washington, Astronomers have finally found a place outside our solar system where there's a firm place to stand, if only it weren't so hot.
As scientists search the skies for life somewhere else, they have found more than 300 planets outside our solar system. But they all have been gas balls or can't be proven to be solid. Scientists have long figured that if life begins on a planet, it needs a solid surface to rest on, so finding one somewhere else is a big deal.
"It's hot, they're calling it the lava planet"
It was first discovered earlier this year by European scientists then watched it dozens of times to measure its density to prove that it is rocky like Earth. It's in our general neighborhood, circling a star in the winter sky about 500 light-years away. Each light-year is about 6 trillion miles.
Plus, the planet is about as close to Earth in size as any other planet found outside our solar system.
In Washington, Astronomers have finally found a place outside our solar system where there's a firm place to stand, if only it weren't so hot.
As scientists search the skies for life somewhere else, they have found more than 300 planets outside our solar system. But they all have been gas balls or can't be proven to be solid. Scientists have long figured that if life begins on a planet, it needs a solid surface to rest on, so finding one somewhere else is a big deal.
"It's hot, they're calling it the lava planet"
It was first discovered earlier this year by European scientists then watched it dozens of times to measure its density to prove that it is rocky like Earth. It's in our general neighborhood, circling a star in the winter sky about 500 light-years away. Each light-year is about 6 trillion miles.
Plus, the planet is about as close to Earth in size as any other planet found outside our solar system.
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