Two Earth-like planets discovered by team led by Irish astrophysicist

“ Two nearby Earth-like planets, with many of the factors required for life, have been discovered by a team led by Irish astrophysicist Dr Sandra Jeffers.

The planets called 887b and 887c have been found orbiting a star called Gliese 887 which is 11 light years away; making them next door neighbours in celestial terms.

“One has a 9.8 day orbit and the other planet orbits at 22 days,” explained Dr Jeffers. We know that the mass [of both] is a few times that of the Earth which is why we call them super earths,” explained Dr Jeffers who is based at the University of Gottingen, Germany.

An exoplanet is a planet located outside our solar system. The first – 51 Pegasus B – was discovered in 1995. Since then about 4,000 more have been found. Details of the latest discovery have been published in the journal Science.”