In the quest to find alien life, scientists are searching for extrasolar Earth-Jupiter duos

An illustration of an Earth-like planet being watched over by a Jupiter-like giant planet with a small sun in the distance.

Scientists have created a first-of-its-kind catalog of planets outside the solar system that exhibit similar sizes to Earth and are watched over by a "big sibling," Jupiter-like world. Known as the Kepler Giant Planet Search, the catalog took a decade to compile. 

Finding extrasolar planets, or "exoplanets," in such configurations while orbiting a star, the team says, could be a critical component in our ongoing search to discover life elsewhere in the Milky Way. This is because Jupiter has been identified as a key component in allowing life to develop here on Earth.