About 425 light years away from us is a binary star system called HD 113766 - where one scientist believes an inhabitable, terrestrial planet is forming around one of the stars. According to the scientist who has made the discovery, the new planet is likely to be like Earth or Mars in size and location in its own solar system. The two stars in the system are similar to our Sun except they are both just slightly bigger and brighter, which makes them ideal for a livable planet. Plus, the planet is forming right in the middle of the inhabitable zone - where the distance from the star makes for the perfect conditions for water and other conditions that are required to support life.
There is no planet there yet - there is just a dust ring around one of the stars where planets are beginning to accumulate. Apparently, the star is just the right age to create rocky planets instead of huge gas giants at the inner part of the system. This is a pretty significant find if he is right, because most of the planets that astronomers find seem to be gas giants because they are so much bigger and easier to see. If we manage to leave Earth and colonize planets across the galaxy (and therefore still exist as the human race in 3-5 billion years when intelligent life has time to have developed on the new planet) maybe we can go over and meet our new neighbors...
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