As the first planet of our solar system, Mercury usually doesn't get the same level of attention as, say, the more loved dwarf planet Pluto. But once we consider that Mercury is also the closest planet to the Sun, we won't argue the point of actually going there - unless, of course, the Sahara Desert's your kind of Bora Bora. But NASA's braved the effort, and right after Messenger flew around Mercury this January 2008, they're willing to share the experience.

At the Carnegie Institution of Washington, several teams of astronomers competed in the hunt for the most Earth-like planet in the universe. Guess what? University of Geneva astronomers has already found one.

The planet was found just outside the solar system by the 11 European scientists with the European Southern Observatory's telescope in La Silla, Chile. The planet is circling the red dwarf star Gliese 581 which is around 120 trillion miles away.

That's quite far but when you're talking about things on this level, that's practically considered a neighbor. Anyway, the new planet is around five times heavier than Earth and its gravity is 1.6 times stronger.

"Liquid water is critical to life as we know it. Because of its temperature and relative proximity, this planet will most probably be a very important target of the future space missions dedicated to the search for extraterrestrial life. On the treasure map of the Universe, one would be tempted to mark this planet with an X," commented Xavier Delfosse of Grenoble University in France, also part of the magic 11.

It is still uncertain whether the planet rotates or not, so it is possible that one side of it is in day light perpetually while the other is covered in darkness. Speaking of which, if one is to live in that planet, the star Gliese 581 would hang from the sky looking five times larger than our moon.