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You are here: Home / Science / Which Planets Outside Our Solar System Have Aliens?

Which Planets Outside Our Solar System Have Aliens?

August 1, 2020 by Karen Hill

Two decades ago, astronomers weren’t sure if any planets existed outside of our own solar system.

Now they’ve identified more than 1,000 all over the galaxy.

But in order to support liquid water and therefore life as we know it, a planet must be small enough, rocky, have an atmosphere that’s dense but not crushing, and sit just the right distance from its star: Too close and water would evaporate, too far and it would be a frozen wasteland.

So of the 1,000 known exoplanets, just 12 might boast the Goldilocks-like conditions necessary for aliens, says astronomer Abel Méndez of the Planetary Habitability Laboratory at the University of Puerto Rico. But how likely is that?

Méndez used size and orbital distance to calculate an Earth Similarity Index for each. The closer the planet is to 1.0, the better the chance of ET.

Related Facts

  • Where Did Minor Planets In Our Solar System Come From and What Are the Minor Planets Made Of?
  • What Are the Inner Planets and What Are the Names Of the Four Inner Planets In Our Solar System?
  • What Are the Characteristics of the Inner Planets In Our Solar System and How Are the Inner Planets Similar?
  • What Is the Solar System and How Many Planets Are There In the Solar System?
  • How Old Is the Solar System and How Long After the Sun Did the Planets In the Solar System Form?
  • What Are Space Probes Used For and Which Space Probes Have Visited Other Planets In Our Solar System?

Filed Under: Science

About Karen Hill

Karen Hill is a freelance writer, editor, and columnist. Born in New York, her work has appeared in the Examiner, Yahoo News, Buzzfeed, among others.

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