History In The Headlines  New Super-Earths May Support Life  By
Barbara Maranzani At a press conference on Thursday, scientists
from NASA’s Ames Research Center announced the discovery of
seven new distant planets, three of which may be earth-like
“water worlds.” The planets, Kepler-62e, Kepler-62f and
Kepler-69c are just the latest findings from the Kepler Space
Telescope, which has located thousands of other planets since it
was launched in March 2009.  NASALocated 1,200 light years away
in the constellation Lyra, two of the planets are part of a
five-planet system orbiting the star Kepler-62. The system’s
other bodies, dubbed 62b, 62c and 62d, are considered both too
large and too close to the star to support life. The two
outermost planets, however, fall within a more temperate
“habitable zone,” meaning they’re at a safe enough distance from
the star to keep surface temperatures low and allow for the
presence of liquid water—critical to supporting life. Planets
such as these are also known as “Goldilocks”