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Earth-sized planet discovered at nearest star

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    Dave Brody tells us about an alien planet right in our solar system's backyard

  • Duration 6:34
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This transcript is automatically generated

And in the meantime we are switching gears and talk about what's happening.

An outer space joining us live here on set David Brody science writer with space dot com and you -- him on Twitter at Dave Skype Brody.

Thank you so much for being here today thanks -- from.

Really nice to the -- -- -- he's black are asking the right don't I -- -- they shoot it up for the spacing and go find this new.

-- is -- a planet uses star explained to us what's going on what's been.

-- sure it is the very first earth size planet that scientists have found orbiting a sun like star.

You know -- the really wonderful thing about it is it's at the very next star system out from myself from the closest star system devices system called Alpha Centauri.

And -- -- consists of three stars two of them are some like once a little red dwarf.

And around one of the sun like stars orbiting earth sized -- about the size of -- little bit larger it's a little bit more massive than earth about 13% more massive.

Think -- what we're seeing here on the screen right now is what the article that we have for people on foxnews.com.

You know next door alien planet is still too distant to visit at least for now known -- sounds like there's hope mother could be -- I don't know for gonna get people married him.

Anything like the human lifetime here's the deal even if you took the fastest chemical rockets that we currently have.

This our system is so far away even though it's the nearest one he would take you over 40000.

Years.

To get there the star systems four point three light years that's four point three times the distance light travels in a year.

Light comes from the sun to earth in about 502 -- -- -- -- eight minutes.

The -- is really very close to start to a -- is the next one way.

Also it's hard to imagine how you could ever go there without -- faster -- -- Travel but we might get close to the speed of light with robots and in something like on the years' time you could get -- -- to that star system.

The good news is.

With telescopes a specialist based missiles that you really don't have to go there to find out an awful lot about this little piece we know a lot now.

We know that it's way too hot to sustain life.

-- -- 2200.

Degrees Fahrenheit so little people running around long models their fire people up next week is hard to imagine what kind of like -- is is that those temperatures.

Then planet is so closely into the star it's only about three million miles off the surface of the storm that's like 25 times closer to its hard and we are to our son that it's gonna be really hot.

And it whips around that star in the little more than three days so each year.

Is full more than three of our days.

Long really fast hot little guy wire scientists excited about it because the first earth size planet from around.

The sun like star and -- -- been observing it for about four years it takes the the further -- the orbit meaning the more earth like before that you want to find.

The longer it takes to identify plants okay so it's possible.

That there is an earth size -- earth -- for earth like planet in that star system.

We just won't know for a bunch of years until we've had a chance to keep looking and looking and looking.

-- -- -- And you mention that this was discovered was discovered four years no they started looking for years ago and it takes that long because the way they look is they don't actually see the planet.

Way too small.

And the -- -- way too right so what they measure because they measure the wobble in the star.

That's created by the planet so wobble in the star that's not it initially only got to learn learn something I brought -- -- as a bronze star OK it looks like.

My wrists okay.

Here's the planet orbiting around the start a campaign.

If you look not the planet put -- my.

-- which is representing the star offensive in my hand is moving back and forth as the star orbits -- so -- scientists are actually seeing the telescope is the star.

Moving across space dancing a little bit it's wobbling.

Technically it's called the radial velocity method.

-- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- Yet we have scientists and this was a European team working the telescope in Chile are able to identify that really slow variation.

In the stars denounces the moves across the sky high from that they deduce the existence of the planet you are very often -- So is there an app I mean you you talk about the what would ever be like to try and go check this out it it would be not in our lifetime at least not yet.

What do you do now with this information.

-- well we -- wonder are we the only earth.

And who are there are other civilizations out there are -- there are a lot of Smart people looking perhaps sent us.

Now it's a whole new ballgame because we think that you know if the very -- star hasn't earth size -- mass planet.

The likelihood is that the cosmos is filled with planets that are -- masters size.

Therefore it's not hard to imagine that there are other star systems out there.

-- management operating longer than we have -- eighty further along the line and we are so maybe they're finding us right.

-- but it's wonderful to speculate about the stuff and it gives us something to think about beyond Obama vs Romney -- you know and both sides are yet.

A little space sidebar it's good to see what goes on on this little tiny planet in perspective sometimes I mean you're sneezing is not the community the space community must -- -- -- thrilled and excited again we -- -- -- knocked out.

Think about this week we really want to find out if there's life civilization out there who would actually like to explore the nearest planet seniors -- ourselves and.

Can -- there perhaps.

Right and people how can people find you had mentioned some of your website of the Twitter but do you think people interact with you ask you questions.

Absolutely first welcomed -- space dot com really -- URL to remember iPad and if you wanna ask you about done this or any other announcements -- -- mine act -- sky high gravity -- its library on -- love to hear from you.

We have a whole bunch of really Smart writers who -- to interact with our community and our great.

That's that's all -- listen to -- our content to fox.

I'm like that yes thank you very much you and again -- we -- to thank you very much for for all of this information again.

You can find out more on this on our website foxnews.com and as he mentioned also check out space dot com David -- science writer for space dot com thank you so much for being here with us central.

They have very famous very interesting all right so -- take a quick break.

And won't come back we're gonna introduce you to Lori Rubin was a blind soprano and author talking about dreaming and -- Very interest -- stuff indeed --

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