The Earth is just too unusual a place, they insisted, with its stable orbit, nearby moon, watery surface, plate tectonics and unique position in the galaxy.

FORBES: We've Got Company

The researchers used data from the global network of solar monitoring telescopes (Gong) as well as the Soho satellite positioned in a stable orbit 1.6 million km (a million miles) closer to the Sun than the Earth.

BBC: Sun has strange 'spin cycle'

"In a nutshell, the plan in NASA's hands calls for catching an asteroid with a robotic spacecraft and towing it back toward Earth, where it would then be placed in a stable orbit around the moon, " read a statement from the office of Florida Sen.

CNN: Forget falling stars: NASA plans to catch an asteroid