If Canada isn’t far enough away from the Tea Party for you to comfortably set up residence, take heart- scientists have located a planet they believe can support human life, the Associated Press reports.

The European Southern Observatory (ESO) has discovered a few “Super-Earths” using their exoplanet-hunting telescope- 16 of the planets to be precise, among 50 alien planets. But one of the planets in particular, the unassumingly named HD 85512 b, has some Earth-like qualities that indicate we can one day shove an American flag in its soil and start pumping SUV emissions into its atmosphere.

HD 855512 b- which sounds remarkably like a new TV model- like Earth, orbits its star in what’s known as the “habitable zone,” an area in which water can hang around as a liquid without freezing or turning to steam.

In a statement, HARPS [High Accuracy Radial velocity Planet Searcher instrument] team leader Michel Mayor of the University of Geneva said:

“The harvest of discoveries from HARPS has exceeded all expectations and includes an exceptionally rich population of super-Earths and Neptune-type planets hosted by stars very similar to our sun. And even better — the new results show that the pace of discovery is accelerating.”

Exoplanet habitability expert Lisa Kaltenegger commented to press about the significance of the discovery:

“I think we’re in for an incredibly exciting time. We’re not just going out there to discover new continents- we’re actually going out there to discover brand new worlds.”

The new Super-Earth is also spacious- about 3.6 times the size of actual Earth.

Super-Earth Could Support Life, Scientists Say is a post from: The Inquisitr

More than 50 new planets have been found by a high-powered telescope at the European Southern Observatory and a few of them could be suitable for life. The Astronomers at the ESO say that they have found 16 Super-Earths, but one in particular has peaked the interests of space scholars. Super planet HD 85512 b is orbiting its star within the Goldilocks zone.

According to Live Science, the astronomers at the European Southern Observatory used the High Accuracy Radial Velocity Planet Searcher instrument, or HARPS, to locate the exoplanets.

HARPS team leader Michel Mayor said in a statement:

“The harvest of discoveries from HARPS has exceeded all expectations and includes an exceptionally rich population of super-Earths and Neptune-type planets hosted by stars very similar to our sun. And even better — the new results show that the pace of discovery is accelerating.”

Super-Earth HD 85512 b is three times more massive than earth and has a parent star that is 35 light-years away. This puts the Super-Planet in the Goldilocks zone, or habitable zone, where the planet is not too hot and not too cold for liquid water to be present.

Exoplanet habitability expert Lisa Kaltenegger, said:

“I think we’re in for an incredibly exciting time. We’re not just going out there to discover new continents — we’re actually going out there to discover brand new worlds.”

But Kaltenegger admits that Super-Earth HD 85512 b probably won’t be a vacation destination in the future.

Kaltenegger said:

“It’s going to be really muggy, just think about the muggiest (Washington) day you can think of. We’re not saying it’s habitable for you and me.”

Here’s a video about the Super-Earth.

Scientists have found a few Goldilocks zones in the past, but alien life still seems like a far off possibility. Will Super-Earth HD 85512 b finally prove that we aren’t alone in the universe?

Super-Earth Found in Goldilocks Zone is a post from: The Inquisitr