Major Discovery: New Planet Could Harbor Water and Life
http://www.space.com/scienceastronomy/070424_hab_exoplanet.html

The planet is called Gliese 581 C since its host star is a red dwarf by the name of Gliese 581.  It's 50% larger than the earth, but is definitely rocky.  Its orbit is much closer to its star, but since red dwarves are much dimmer ( Read more... )

Water Found in Extrasolar Planet's Atmosphere
http://www.space.com/scienceastronomy/070410_water_exoplanet.html

This planet is a rare transiting planet, meaning that from our perspective it periodically passes in front of its sun.  This allows astronomers to  observe the difference in the star's light between when the planet is occulting its star and ( Read more... )