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Letter: What makes a planet 'Earth-like'?

Published 2 September 2015

From Brian Robinson

Yet again, excited astronomers and journalists are jumping up and down over finding “another Earth” (1 August, p 4). But Kepler-452b is not an Earth-like planet.

The Earth is part of a binary planet system, with the moon. The effects of being a binary planet have been suggested as major reasons behind the development of life.
Brentwood, Essex, UK

Issue no. 3037 published 5 September 2015

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