Wolf 1061 c is a “super-Earth” like the one in this artist’s rendition.
Just 14 light-years away is a star named Wolf 1061 hosting a planet that could be one of our best bets to find life beyond the solar system.
There are three so-called super-Earths in the system, including Wolf 1061c, which orbits in the habitable zone where the temperature is such that liquid water, and therefore life as we know it, could exist.
New research set to be published in the next issue of the Astrophysical Journal (PDF) confirms earlier estimates that the planet orbits near the inside edge of the habitable zone, or closer to its sun, which means it could be more like Venus than Earth. But that hasn’t stopped scientists at METI International from checking Wolf 1061 for signs of alien smarts. (METI stands for Messaging Extraterrestrial Intelligence.)
METI has pointed its optical telescope in Panama at the star on four separate occasions to search for brief laser pulses sent by an alien civilization. So far the search has yielded nothing, but it’s just getting started.
