16 "Super Earths" Discovered

   The European Southern Observatory has just announced the discovery of over 50 new planets.  16 of them are "Super Earths," or planets with masses one to ten times larger than that of Earth.  One of these, HD85512b, has conditions in which humans could thrive, including liquid water.  It is about 35 lightyears from earth, located outside of our solar system.  This is a really amazing development, especially because there could be extraterrestrial life there.  It's exciting that humans may have another planet on which to sustain life.  The leader of the team that discovered the planets, Michael Mayor, has said that in 10 to 20 years, there will be a list of potentially habitable planets near the sun.  It's an incredible thought that in my lifetime we could be inhabiting another planet.