The search for life outside our solar system has taken another twist as researchers revealed they have discovered an atmosphere around an Earth-like planet 49 light years away that could have liquid water on its surface.
Atmospheres have previously been found around gas giant exoplanets as well as “sub-Neptunes”. There have also been signs of such envelopes around rocky exoplanets that sit outside their star’s habitable zone – a region in which liquid water could exist on the planet’s surface, and hence potentially support life.
