Israelis discover ‘new Earth’ – 3,000 light years away

Israeli scientists have discovered a new frozen Earth-like planet 3,000 light years away, writes Misha Barry.

Combined data from a network of telescopes based in Israel, Chile, New Zealand and Australia were used to confirm the remarkable finding.

The planet was discovered by chance when the team of international scientists spotted an unusual signal in light from a “microlensing event”.

This occurs when a star’s gravity acts like a lens, bending light from a much more distant object precisely behind it.

Scientist Milton Friedman, a member of the Israeli team, said: “Half the stars in the galaxy are in binary systems. We had no idea if Earth-like planets in Earth-like orbits could even form in these systems.”

US astronomer Professor Scott Gaudi added: “This greatly expands the potential locations to discover habitable planets in the future.”