ANALYSIS: NASA announced the discovery of a solar system with rocky planets orbiting in the habitable zone of their star, but there are good reasons to think these planets aren't very much like Earth.
, the number of exoplanets — planets circling stars other than our own Sun — has passed 5,000 and counting. Most are truly alien worlds — gas giants like Jupiter or super hot like Mercury. That's why astronomers get excited when planets that seem to be more like Earth are found within what's known as the habitable zone of their star.
The habitable zone is a region around a star where the planet is just the right distance so it is neither too hot nor too cold, meaning liquid water could potentially exist on its surface. First of all, the dwarf star is smaller, cooler and dimmer than our sun, so the habitable zone is in a closer range. One of the two planets only takes 28 Earth days to complete its orbit, while its companion's year is 37 days long.When planets are that close to their stars, they are often gravitationally locked, which means one side always faces the star while the other faces outer space. Our moon is gravitationally locked to Earth, which is why we only see one side of it in our sky.
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