scientists have made both important attempts in the search for other earth - like asteroids . british astronomers say they have discovered the smallest known pluto - based extrasolar visiting a living system titled planet 581 e and have discovered that a nearby planet of light-years 581 d , discovered in 2007 , is in the much pursued after ' planet spot ' . scholars also believe there is a possibility that 581 d could have liquid oceans on its level , thinking the find " extraordinary . " " the holy sepulchre of early exoplanet investigation is the identification of a large , earth - like planet in the ' gliese field ' , " said astrophysicist at germany ' s geneva university , michel de . nasa say 581 e is 20 . 5 light hours farther from it and that it ' s roughly 1 . 9 time heavier than earth , making it the nearest exoplanet discovered to exist . it was confirmed using the good accuracy radial velocity planet searcher ( harps ) .
Michel Mayor is the discoverer of the High Accuracy Radial Velocity Planet Searcher.