Earth-like planet which could support life discovered

(Web Desk) – An earth-like planet which could support life has been discovered — but it is 282 trillion miles away._x000D_
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The rock, LHS 1140b, was discovered in 2017 but has now crucially been shown to have its own atmosphere._x000D_
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It orbits a red dwarf star and is thought to have a massive liquid ocean, with small patches of land._x000D_
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Dr Collin Cherubim, of Harvard University, said: “This is the first time anyone has found an atmosphere on a rocky planet in the habitable zone of another star.”_x000D_
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Colleague Prof Robin Wordsworth added: “Twenty years ago we wondered whether other terrestrial-type planets even existed._x000D_
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“Then we learned they’re common, and found some in the habitable zone._x000D_
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“The next question was whether any of them had managed to keep an atmosphere. Now we know at least one has.”_x000D_
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The atmosphere was found by the Magellan Clay telescope at Las Campanas Observatory in Chile, which detected escaping helium._x000D_
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“LHS 1140b is 70 per cent bigger than Earth, with a mass five times greater._x000D_
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Its temperature range is believed to be similar to ours._x000D_
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But the distance of 48 light years — the equivalent of 28,102,521,275,749.6 miles — means it would take a rocket such as SpaceX’s Falcon 9 1.3 million years to reach._x000D_
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Homo sapiens have existed for around 300,000 years.