Scientists’ Discovery Of Ancient Solar System Consisting Earth-sized Planets Suggests Possibility of Existence of Alien Life--Report

Scientists have discovered a solar system consisting of five ancient Earth-sized planets close to more than 11.2 billion year old star, according to a report. The discovery is speculated to have aroused the possibility of the existence of alien life in 13.7 billion year old Milky Way galaxy.

According to News.com.au, the discovery of the new star system was made by group of astrophysicists “from around the world.” The group led by Tiago Campante from the University of Birmingham also includes researchers from University of Sydney. The findings of the scientists were published in The Astrophysics Journal.

The researchers have reportedly discovered a solar system with five rocky Earth-sized planets orbiting around “Sun-like star” named Kepler-444. The star discovered by NASA’s Kepler satellite, launched in 2009, lies approximately 117 light years away from Earth in the constellation called Lyra.

The discovery of these planets indicates that “Earth-sized planets have formed throughout most of the Universe’s 13.8-billion-year-history, which provides the scope for the existence of ancient life in the Galaxy,” Tiago Campante was quoted as saying in the written statement. Daniel Huber from the University of Sydney and co-author of the paper about the discovery said that the discovery is extraordinary.

The investigation did not indicate if these planets are home to alien life, Huber revealed. However, he feels that the discovery does point out at the possibility of the existence of alien life in the Milky Way galaxy. “We know that planets exist that are that old. We can assume that there might be stars similarly old and they might have planets that are further away that might be habitable,” Huber told News.com.au

Huffington Post notes that Campante and his team of researchers used a method called asteroseismology. The technique reportedly helped scientists measure the radius, age and mass of the star and the five planets.

Addressing the topic in an email to HuffPost, William Borucki, a space scientist at the NASA”s Ames Research Center in Moffett Field said the discovery of Kepler-444 is significant, but there is a need for a “definitive answer” about the existence of life on other planets. "The discovery of Kepler-444 is important, but whether it implies advanced life or no life will remain a mystery until our technology advances to the point that we can get a definitive answer,” Borucki explained.

For questions/comments regarding the article, you may e-mail the writer at j.kaur@IBTimes.com.au.