"Magnificent Universe" wrote in message
...
A yellow star in the Big Dipper's bowl bears a striking resemblance to our
Sun, say astronomers in Australia. It may therefore have a planet like
Earth, so they suggest scientists search the star for signs of intelligent
life. For the full story, see http://KenCroswell.com/HD98618.html .



With the current state of being able to peer into other solar systems, this
kind of
discovery is meaningless until they actually have telescopes that can
subtract
the glare of the parent star and actually see other planets. It will also
take some painstaking
observation to tell if the star wobbles under the influence of neighboring
planets either directly
or spectroscopically. That article basically is just a brain teaser and
nothing more.

The chances of a sister planet evolving exactly like earth is
well..ASTRONOMICAL.
There must be gas giants present in any solar system at such a distance as
to protect inner
rocky planets from devastating asteroid hits for instance.

So, keep dreaming.