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Astronomers have discovered the most Earth-like planet outside our Solar System to date, an exoplanet with a radius only 50% larger than the Earth and capable of having liquid water. Using the ESO 3.6-m telescope, a team of Swiss, French and Portuguese scientists discovered a super-Earth about 5 times the mass of the Earth that orbits a red dwarf, already known to harbour a Neptune-mass planet. The astronomers have also strong evidence for the presence of a third planet with a mass about 8 Earth masses.
 

(http://www.everything-science.com//images/stories/phot-22a-07-normal.jpg)

Artist's impression of the planetary system around the red dwarf Gliese 581. Using the instrument HARPS on the ESO 3.6-m . . .

I read about this early this morning. 

New 'super-Earth' found in space
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/sci/tech/6589157.stm
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gliese_581_c

The host star, Gliese 581, is among the 100 closest stars to us, located only 20.5 light-years away in the constellation Libra (“the Scales”).

Only 20.5 ly away!  Practically in the neighborhood.

Too bad about the 5g's though.  I'd weigh over 850 lbs on that planet.

I imagine that it is quite cool there with a red dwarf nearby.

I wonder if any Librans are looking back.  ;D

Hi all,

I'm interested in this one from a weather point of view!

A 13 day orbit....a bit of axis tilt, and you get 4 seasons in 2 weeks!

Also - tides. Given the size of the two other companions, they would be almost tsunami-like.

And another - if it's tidally locked and the orbit isn't too eccentric, possibility of life on the terminator? If the atmosphere is substantial enough, it might just spread the heat out too...rather than evaporating on the inward side and freezing on the other.

One sobering thought though. From 20 light years away, I expect Venus would look like a very life supporting world...

...but then, perhaps it was once?!

Steve M

Earth-Like Planet Discovered in Libra
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=9796321
· Morning Edition, April 25, 2007

Scientists have discovered a new planet in the constellation Libra. The small, rocky planet is special because it appears to have mild temperatures, like Earth. Researchers believe it looks like the first planet outside of our solar system that could be home to liquid water, and maybe even life.

Our solar system has only eight planets — nine if you count Pluto. But outside of our solar system, around other stars, scientists have found dozens and dozens of planets.

"We have discovered more than 100 planets, here in Geneva," says Michel Mayor, a planet hunter at the University of Geneva.

Almost all of these known "extrasolar" planets are giant balls of gas, much like Jupiter or Saturn. Such massive planets are relatively easy to find. They have a gravitational pull that makes their stars wobble, and when scientists see that wobble, they know there is a planet. Small, rocky planets cause less of a wobble, making them harder to find.

Still, Mayor and his colleagues have had some luck using the European Southern Observatory's big telescope at La Silla, Chile. They recently pointed it at a nearby star called Gliese 581, in the constellation Libra.