The European Southern Observatory recently reported some findings, and while there aren’t any wacky planets made of diamond or planets blacker than a Hot Topic customer thinks his soul is, there is a possibility we’ve found Earth 2. Or, rather, Earths 2 through 17.
The haul included 16 “Super-Earths”; rocky planets larger than our own. One in particular, HD 85512 b, has caught everybody’s attention because it’s right at the edge of the habitable zone for its star: in other words, if life isn’t supported on it, we could probably put some life on it and have it be OK.
So, when we have to figure out where to send the generation ships once we render this rock completely uninhabitable, now we’ve got a candidate!
[ via the 90s series fans at Space.com ]