Goldilocks Planet Tops Week Of Scientific Advances

Scientists have announced the planet discovered in a 'Goldilocks' orbit around a star some 600 lightyears away could harbour life, topping a week of major scientific breakthroughs.

On Tuesday it was announced that the planet, known as Keppler 22-b, had been discovered by NASA’s Kepler Mission, and was the first earth-like planet orbiting in the habitable zone of a star similar to the Sun.

The orbit is known as the 'Golidlocks' distance as it is neither too hot nor too cold, and capable of sustaining a recognisable form of life.

This discovery was the first detection of a possibly habitable world in orbit around a Sun-like star and was made by observing the regular dimming of the distant star's brightness as the planet passed between us and its parent star.

However, on Wednesday, Chief researcher Alan Boss at the Carnegie Institution for Science in Washington said: “This discovery supports the growing belief that we live in a universe crowded with life.”

The discovery tops a week already full of major scientific discoveries.

Also on Wednesday, a US team announced it has found the two biggest "supermassive" black holes known to science, coming in at an unimaginable size of 10 billion times the mass of the Sun.

The findings come from observations of two nearby galaxies: NGC 3842 and NGC 4889, where scientists at the University of California, Berkeley where able to deduce the blackhole's size from the brightness of a type of bright star known as a quasar.

Meanwhile, rumours are abounding at the world famous CERN particle accelerator in Geneva, that early signs of the long sought 'God Particle' or Higgs Boson have been found.

The early detections have not yet been confirmed but if the particle's sighting is found to be correct, it could have huge ramifications for the scientific community and confirm a lot of existing theories on the nature of the universe.

Finally, and also on Wednesday morning, Scientists in Carnagie have also claimed the discovery of a material harder than diamond. The substance, known as super-hard carbon, was formed by compressing carbon to unprecedented levels. The material however has to endure rigorous testing and analysis before its super-hard properties are confirmed.

(DW)