New Planets Detected around Star Gliese 667 Could Have Life

CNN reported earlier today that astronomers have found yet another group of somewhat earth-like planets around a star (Gliese 667) some 22 light years from Earth. The discovery includes 3 of 7 planets around Gliese 667 which appear to have the right composition and position to may them candidates for extraterrestrial life.

Published Wednesday in the journal Astronomy & Astrophysics, the findings base the likelihood of life on these extra-solar planet on factors which include the mass of the planets and their position from their sun. Three of the planets around Gliese 667 are what are known as terrestrial-mass, meaning they are relatively close to the mass of our Earth.

Additionally, the planets appear to reside in what the scientists refer to as the habitable zone around the star. This is the distance range in which the planets could in theory contain liquid water. Guillem Anglada-Escude of the University of Gottingen, Germany, who led the team of astronomers indicated that this recent find is the largest number of “habitable zone” planets ever found within a single system.

While the three potentially habitable planets around Gliese 667C are much closer to their parent star, roughly equivalent to the orbit of our planet Mercury, the star in only about two-thirds the mass of our sun and about 98 percent dimmer. These differences are also what make the possibility of life on these far away worlds a possibility.