Eight planets found that could support life

 

Eight new planets have been discovered in the 'Goldilocks' zone of their stars, orbiting at a distance where oceans and life could exist.

To be in the habitable zone, also known as the 'Goldilocks zone', a planet must be not too hot or too cold and receive roughly as much sunlight as Earth.

The discovery doubles the number of small planets less than twice the diameter of Earth which are believed to be in the habitable zone of their parent stars.

Among these eight, astronomers say there are two that are the most similar to Earth of any known exoplanets to date

Most of these planets have a good chance of being rocky, like Earth,' said lead scientist Dr Guillermo Torres, from the Harvard-Smithsonian Centre for Astrophysics in Cambridge, US.

The two most Earth-like planets, known as Kepler-438b and Kepler-442b, both orbit red dwarf stars that are smaller and cooler than the sun.

With a diameter just 12 % bigger than Earth, Kepler-438b has a 70 % chance of being rocky, the scientists have calculated.

Kepler-442b is about one-third larger than Earth, and the likelihood of it being rocky is around 60%