scientists have made two major achievements in the search for other earth - like elements . british officials argue they have encountered the smallest extant earth - like exoplanet around a terrestrial star in extrasolar 581 e and have discovered that a nearby planet called gliese 581 d , discovered in 2007 , is in the much wanted after ' habitable zone ' . astronomers also believe there is a possibility that 581 d could have contained oceans on its surface , calling the find " unprecedented . " " the spiritual matrimony of current exoplanet research is the presence of a small , jupiter - like planet in the ' landmass region ' , " said anthropologist at ireland ' s lyon university , michel mayor . astronomers believe 581 e is 20 . 5 billion years away from earth and that it ' s roughly 1 . 9 times larger than earth , making it the smallest pulsars discovered to date . it was found using the high accurate linear momentum planets searcher ( harp ) .
Michel Mayor is the discoverer of the High Accuracy Radial Velocity Planet Searcher.