14 June 2005 - Earthlike planet

In a routine announcement—they’re so regular they should be scheduled in advance—astronomers say they’ve discovered the most Earthlike extrasolar planet yet. Its mass is only seven times the Earth’s, and its estimated temperature of 200 to 400 Celsius is practically homey. The other 150-odd known extrasolar planets are alien by comparison. As the rhythmic stream of reports runs by, saying how we’re closing in on the needle, why is it, do you suppose, that the haystack never makes the news?