Video: Thinking About Alien Planets

View full size image

This NASA video shows how the alien planet 55 Cancrie e is wetter and more suitable for life than previously thought when it was discovered in 2004. The planet revolves around a star called 55 Cancri A and is part of a new class called a super-Earth because it's mass is higher than that of our planet. The planet was initially thought to be mainly composed of rock because it's very close to its sun. However, new data from NASA's Spitzer spacecraft shows there is water, gas and other elements in the planet oozing from the surface in a supercritical state. Although there are elements that make the planet similar to Earth, it's so close to its sun that standing on it would make your feet melt.

Follow Life's Little Mysteries on Twitter @llmysteries, then join us on Facebook.