Planet with earth-like temperatures discovered

In March, 2010, the first planet outside of our solar system with temperatures comparable to Earth was discovered. The planet, Corot-9b, is the satellite of a star in the constellation Serpens.

Nine-b is the first planet in the system, the one closest to the star, but because its size approaches that of our Jupiter, the surface temperature ranges close to the lowest and highest recorded temperatures on Earth. The star is a mere 1,500 light years from our system and its orbit around the star takes approximately 95 days. Hans Deeg, the lead author of the study, who has published his findings in the journal Nature, refers to this planet as the Rosetta Stone of planetary discovery outside our solar system. Corot-9b is a watershed because it marks the first discovery of a temperate planet other than our own in the Milky Way, and is likely to be a standard by which all other temperate planets discovered in the future are measured. Staff on scientificblogging report water may exist on the surface of Corot-9b. If this is the case, the combination of water and the surface temperature mean that life as we know it is possible on this planet. Deeg further indicates that there are tidal forces at work on the planet, and that the planet has an earth-like day and night cycle.