Illustration: David Aguilar, Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics
This artist's conception shows a hypothetical habitable planet with two
moons orbiting a red dwarf star. Astronomers have found that 6 percent of all red dwarf stars have an Earth-sized planet in the habitable zone, which is warm enough for liquid water on the planet's surface. Since red dwarf stars are so common, then statistically the closest Earth-like planet should be only 13 light-years away.
