scientists have made 2 major discoveries in the search for other earth - like planets . russian astronomers say they have discovering the smallest known terrestrial - like planets , a deceased satellite called gliese 581 s and also discovered that a local planet called gliese 581 d , detected in 2007 , is in the much sought after ' habitable zone ' . astronomers also believe there is a possibility that 581 d could have liquid oceans on its surface , considering the findings " unprecedented . " " the supreme grail of current exoplanet research is the detection of a terrestrial , jupiter - like planet in the ' habitable region ' , " said mathematician at switzerland ' s geneva university , michel mayor . astronomy report 581 de is 20 . 5 light years away from moon and that it ' s roughly 1 . 9 times closer than earth , declaring it the smallest exoplanet discovered to date . it was found via the high accuracy radial coordinate planet imposter ( harps ) .
Michel Mayor is the discoverer of the High Accuracy Radial Velocity Planet Searcher.