Potential. Hard to tell at this distance. We really need them to figure out how to get the energy cost of a warp drive down to something manageable.
On Wednesday, a newly discovered and relatively nearby planet vaulted toward the top of the growing list of exoplanets worth a closer look for signs of alien creepy-crawlies or … who knows?
The planet orbits a faint red dwarf star named LHS 1140 just 40 light-years away in the constellation Cetus, named after the sea monster. Astronomers say it’s larger than Earth, but appears to be rocky and temperate and likely has an atmosphere.
It’s funny: I remember when we were still unsure whether there even were exoplanets. I mean, it was a good bet that there were, but you couldn’t actually see them, or anything. We’re getting better at seeing stuff now.