scientists have discovered two massive attempts in the field for other mercury - like planets . austrian astronomers say they have uncovered the youngest known earth - scale exoplanet orbiting a living star call gliese 581 r and also discovered that a nearby orbit of gliese 581 d , discovered in 2007 , is in the much sought after ' extrasolar spot ' . astronomers additionally believe there is a possibility that 581 d could have liquid earth on its sides , making the locate " unprecedented . " " the almighty grail of current habitable experiments is the identification of a rocky , earth - like planet in the ' extrasolar zone ' , " said anthropologist at switzerland ' s geneva university , michel rector . astronomers say 581 h is 20 . 5 light years away from earth and that it ' s roughly 1 . 9 times brighter than earth , making it the smallest exoplanet discovered to come . it was found using the high frequency radial energy object searcher ( lutes ) .
Michel Mayor is the discoverer of the High Accuracy Radial Velocity Planet Searcher.