Faraway Planet Is Too Hot to Handle Life

Corot-7b, seen here in an artist's rendering, is very close to its sun. (European Southern Observatory Via Associated Press)

-- Is there life beyond our planet? To answer this question, scientists say they first must find a planet that looks like it could sustain life. And for the first time, astronomers have found a rocky planet outside our solar system.

But don't start thinking about little green men. This planet, called Corot-7b, has a surface temperature of about 3,600 degrees, which scientists think is too hot for anything to live. Still, it's a huge discovery among scientists searching for signs of life out in the universe.

"It's as close to something like the Earth that we've found so far," said German astronomer Artie Hartzes. "It's just a little too close to its sun."

Corot-7b circles its sun in just 20 hours, compared with 365 days for Earth. It is 500 light years away, which is not that far in astronomical terms (one light year is about 6 trillion miles). The discovery gives scientists more confidence that a rocky planet with livable conditions is out there somewhere.

Finding it is the hard part. Link...