New planet

According to a study published today in the journal 'Nature,' astronomers have found at least seven Earth-sized planets orbiting the same star 40 light-years away. This is a rare discovery outside of our solar system because the planets 1) are similar in size to Earth and 2) they could have water on their surfaces and potentially support life. Apparently, the planets are so close to each other and to the star that there are within a space five times smaller than the distance from Mercury to our sun. Standing on one planet, the other planets would appear in the sky as big as the moon — or maybe even twice as big! Said Thomas Zurbuchen, associate administrator of NASA's Science Mission Directorate, "This discovery could be a significant piece in the puzzle of finding habitable environments, places that are conducive to life. Answering the question 'are we alone?' is a top science priority, and finding so many planets like these for the first time in the habitable zone is a remarkable step forward toward that goal."

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