If there's life on distant planet, they may all talk like Alvin and the Chipmunks
Astronomers have found the first rocky, Earth-like planet in the habitable zone around its star that has an atmosphere
On Thursday, we marvelled at just how far astronomers are able to see into the unimaginable depths of space. Now comes the even more exciting news that, for the very first time, scientists have detected an Earth-like planet with an atmosphere.
The planet, LHS 1140b, is about 48 light years away. Rather than being made of gas, it is rocky – like Earth. It also orbits its star in the so-called Goldilocks zone – where temperatures are neither too hot nor too cold to support life.
But it’s the existence of an atmosphere that’s getting people excited. Professor Robin Wordsworth, of Harvard University, said: "Twenty years ago we wondered whether other terrestrial-type planets even existed. Then we learned they're common, and found some in the habitable zone. The next question was whether any of them had managed to keep an atmosphere. Now we know at least one has.”
But don’t get too carried away. So far, the only gas identified in the atmosphere is helium, which is not exactly conduicive to life – unless, of course, they all speak like Alvin and the Chipmunks.
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