Scientists find Earth-like planet that could be home to alien life

May 24 - Scientists have found a new Earth-like planet that could support alien life – just 40 light-years away.

The planet is a remarkable discovery in the search for habitable worlds: it is slightly smaller than the Earth, and thought to be just a little hotter. Many planets outside our solar system, called exoplanets, tend to be much larger and hotter than our own world.

The newly discovered planet is called Gliese 12b and researchers say that even if we cannot find whether it is home to alien life then it will help in our search for other worlds that might be.

The planet planet orbits its host star every 12.8 days, and is comparable in size to Venus - so slightly smaller than Earth.

It has an estimated surface temperature of 42C, which is lower than most of the 5,000-odd exoplanets (planets outside of the solar system) confirmed so far.