Newfound “Tatooine” Alien Planet Bodes Well for E.T. Search

Newfound “Tatooine” Alien Planet Bodes Well for E.T. Search

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The discovery of the first alien planet with two suns — like the “Star Wars” world Tatooine — residing in its parent star’s habitable zone is good news for the search for life beyond Earth, scientists say.

The planet, known as Kepler-47c, is a gas giant and therefore probably not suitable for life as we know it. But its existence hints that smaller, rockier worlds may inhabit other two-star systems’ habitable zones –that just-right range of distances where liquid water can exist. And that’s important, because there are a lot of binary systems out there, scientists say.