A JUPITER-SIZED planet has been spotted in a large circular orbit around its parent star, in the most similar solar system to our own yet seen. Although Earth-sized planets are too small to be detected by current methods, the discovery adds weight to the idea that planetary systems just like our own, complete with rocky Earths, are waiting to be tracked down.
The vast majority of the 100 or so planets detected so far in other solar systems either circle extremely close to their parent star or travel in large elliptical orbits. In both cases it is unlikely that Earth-like…
