HABITABLE EARTH could be a mere 12 LIGHT-YEARS AWAY

Scientist, using the Kepler Space Telescope, have recently discovered that more planets may be earth like than they thought. Planets must be a certain distance from their star to have liquid water, which is a necessary to produce life. They are now saying that up to 1 in 5 stars like the sun may have earth-like planets orbiting them.

The planets are in the right zone to have water and to produce life, but it is impossible to know at this time if they actually do have those things. They are only like earth in their relative size and distance from the sun. It will take more research and more technology to tell if they have life or actual water.
Scientist recently believed that earth-sized planets with temperatures that are right for liquid water would be extremely rare. With this new finding they now believe it is rather common. Because of the commonality of the phenomenon it will be easier to research these planets more fully.

“What this means is, when you look up at the thousands of stars in the night sky, the nearest Sun-like star with an Earth-size planet in its habitable zone is probably only 12 light years away and can be seen with the naked eye. That is amazing,” said UC Berkeley graduate student Erik Petigura, who led the analysis of the Kepler data.

“Is there hardware capable of detecting the atmosphere and its constituents of an Earth-like planet? The answer is no,” she told El Reg. “But there are plans on the books to do exactly that and within the next 50 years we’re going to see the characterization of their atmospheres.

Scientist next step is going to try to get more detailed images of these planets so that they can see if there are signs of water or signs of life. The Kepler Space Telescope is a surveying device, and not capable of taking detailed images.

On The Web:
A HABITABLE SECOND EARTH could be just 12 LIGHT-YEARS away!
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2013/11/04/kepler_earth_like_planets_habitable/
So Much for Earth Being Special: There Could Be 20 Billion Just Like It
http://science.time.com/2013/11/04/so-much-for-earth-being-special-there-could-be-20-billion-just-like-it/
Planetary surveys prompt astronomers to declare were are but one of a billion Earth-like planets in galaxy
http://www.heraldsun.com.au/news/world/planetary-surveys-prompt-astronomers-to-declare-were-are-but-one-of-a-billion-earthlike-planets-in-galaxy/story-fni0xs61-1226753277680