I know that Mom at least had heard about the newly-discovered (and first) Earth-like planet discovered orbiting another star. For anyone else who hadn't heard, this is pretty exciting. The planet is what is called the "habitable zone" of its parent star. Meaning that the planet is in the zone where liquid water - and therefore life - is possible. The planet is called Gliese 581c, and orbits a red dwarf star that is about 20 light-years away. The picture below is an artist's interpretation of the possible view from the surface of this planet, based on the assumption that the planet may have liquid water oceans on its surface.