A SECOND EARTH? Stargazers spot‘alien air’ on planet orbiting nearbystar and claim it could be home toextraterrestrial LIFE

Astonishing discovery hailed as major boost in the search forextraterrestrial life

BY JASPER HAMILL AND ANNA MATHESON 23rd January 2017, 3:52 pm

ASTRONOMERS have claimed a world orbiting a nearby star may have an atmospherethat can support life.

European stargazers trained their telescopes on a planet called GJ 1132 b to discoverthat its blanketed by a thick atmosphere of “alien air”.

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An artist’s impression of the rocky exoplanet GJ 1132b

A view of the Very Large Telescope, in Chile

The exoplanet (the name given to any planet outside our own solar system) is about 39light years away and is orbiting a relatively cool type of star called an M-dwarf, makingit easy to study.

“We have shown that an Earth-mass planet is capable of sustaining a thickatmosphere,” John Southworth, lecturer in astrophysics at Keele University toldScienti�c American.

“This is one step towards investigating whether a planet could host life.”

To discover the atmosphere, a team of scientists used a huge telescope at theEuropean Southern Observatory to watch the planet as it passed in front of its parentstar.

They were able to spot the atmosphere because it absorbed a small amount of light.

“Detecting the atmosphere of Earth-sized planets around M-dwarfs is an essential stepin the search for habitable exoplanets,” said astronomer Julien de Wit.

” Finding one with an atmosphere would provide us with hope.”

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Yesterday, scientists also claimed that an exoplanet that sits just 14 light years awayfrom Earth could be the home of alien life.

Scientists looking at the mysterious exoplanet Wolf 1061 say that it sits within the"habitable zone," just outside the solar system.

However, as it sits in close proximity to the inner edge of this space region, it mightalso mean that the exoplanet is exceedingly hot from trapped gas in the atmosphere.

But some scientists at San Francisco State University believe that Wolf 1061 mightactually be the best place to look for aliens.

Scientists think exoplanet Wolf 1061c could be the home of alien life if it sits in theright position

Astronomer Stephen Kane said: “The Wolf 1061 system is important because it is soclose and that gives other opportunities to do follow-up studies to see if it does indeedhave life.”

But even though the exoplanet lies within the habitable zone, it would have to be in theexact right position in order to harbour life - known as the "Goldilocks zone."

If it sits too far away, the exoplanet will be too cold, but too close means it would be toohot.

It's for this reason that Earth has life; because it sits in the exact right position inrelation to the sun.

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