Discovered: First Rocky Planet outside our Solar System
The acceptance of the nature of CoRoT-7b as the very first rocky planet outside our solar system marks a convincing step forward in the search for earth-like exoplanets. The apprehension by CoRoT (Convection ROtation and planetary Transits) and follow-up radial velocity measurements with the High Accuracy Radial Velocity Planet Searcher (HARPS) suggest that this exoplanet, CoRoT-7b, has a very similar density to that of the planets Mercury, Mars, Venus, and Earth making it only the fifth known terrestrial planet in the entire universe. One of the first steps towards finding a habitable exoplanet is to detect terrestrial planets around solar-type stars. Commited programs, using telescopes in outer space and on the ground, have afforted evidence for loads of planets outside of our own solar system. The amount of these are huge, gaseous planets, but in recent years humble, almost earth-mass planets have been ascertained, demonstrating that the discovery of Earth analogues — exoplanets with one Earth mass or even one Earth radius orbiting a solar-type star at a distance of about 1 astronomical unit — is within reach.
A huge credit to Astronomy.com for the information and the picture.
