Scientists may be able to pinpoint the Earth-like planets in other solar systems sooner than later.
As per what is known about the universe, thousands of Earth-like, habitable planets should exist in other solar systems.
Now, researchers from the Kavli Foundation have gotten closer to detect far-away planets and are on the verge of being able to tell which of these "exoplanets" harbor liquid water - a known necessity for life, and one of the main features that astronomers look for when hunting Earth-like planets.
In September, the astronomers had for the first time detected water vapor in the atmosphere of a Neptune-sized planet. Although the planet lacked a rocky surface and orbits so close to its sun that the temperatures reached more than 10,000 degrees Fahrenheit, it proved that water vapor on distant planets could be detected.
