If extraterrestrial life does exist, scientists think they've found the star that?s orbited by the planet it's on?a middle-aged star in the constellation Gemini. Out of 30 possible solar systems, this one is the best.
Astrobiologist Maggie Turnbull has made a list of 30 stars with planets that could harbor life and found that the one called 37 Gem is the most likely candidate for extraterrestrial life. "This stable, middle-aged star is just a bit hotter and brighter than our sun. And if alien life is anywhere, it's likely to be there," she says.
The list was made the list for NASA'S Terrestrial Planet Finder (TPF), a space telescope that will search for habitable planets after it's launched about 10 years from now. The amount of heavy metal present when the star is formed and its age are important criteria.
Gem 37, the 37th brightest star in the constellation of Gemini, is the winner because it looks most like our sun. Turnball says this is rare because, "the closer we look, the more we realize how (most) other stars are different from the sun."
Some of us think we're already in touch.
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