Oh, and as far as making planets is concerned, God may not play dice, but He is a mean hand at snooker.
So far, no such planets have been observed directly, so it has not been possible to measure their spectra.
Kepler is searching for Earth-like planets around far-flung stars, and the Mars Science Laboratory will sample the Red Planet's geology looking for the building blocks of life - though it will not explicitly look for life itself.
But they are also locations where very few planets have thus far been detected.
None of the alien planets detected so far appear suitable for conventional carbon-based life as known on Earth.
But, based on the limited numbers of planets found so far, Dr Boss has estimated that each Sun-like star has on average one "Earth-like" planet.
"HARPS should be able to find the most interesting and closer Earth twins, " Mendez told Space.com via email, noting that many Kepler planets are too far away to characterize in detail.
That technique has been used so far to identify a dozen nomad planets.
Keck Observatory and the Gemini Observatory, both in Hawaii, took images of three planets orbiting in the far reaches of the system.
Borucki said the new planets are "by far" better candidates for life than any others we know about, but a handful of others also have been identified as potentially capable of hosting life.
So far, the research team has identified three planets circling Kepler-30, all of which orbit the star in the same plane.
FORBES: Astronomers Discover A Solar System Similar To Our Own
But it will not be, because the planets in question will all be on the far side of the sun, whose light will drown them out (except for Mars, which will be visible briefly after sunset).
So far, telescopes have been able to detect just over 300 planets outside our Solar System.
Just over 50 extrasolar planetary systems have so far been discovered and analysis of them shows just how unusual our local system is with its giant planets (Jupiter and Saturn) positioned well away from the Sun.
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