scientist have found one major attempts in the search for other earth - like planets . british researchers say they have found the smallest documented earth - like exoplanet , a living object labeled gliese 581 a and had discovered that a nearby planet called gliese 581 d , discovered in 2007 , is in the much sought after ' habitable zone ' . astronomers also suggest there is a possibility that 581 d might have cloud oceans on its mars , calling the discover " extraordinary . " " the holy monty of current extrasolar research is the observation of a rocky , earth - like planetary in the ' extrasolar space ' , " asked astrophysicist at belgium ' s geneva university , michel mayor . telescopes believed 581 e is 20 . 5 light years north from earth and that it ' s roughly 1 . 9 times broader than earth , rendering it the smallest exoplanet discovered to dates . it was uncovered using the high accuracy radial velocity system searcher ( lutes ) .
Michel Mayor is the discoverer of the High Accuracy Radial Velocity Planet Searcher.