The other day a new planet was discovered, and it is considered a ‘Super Earth’ this planet is in the ‘Goldilocks

Question: The other day a new planet was discovered, and it is considered a 'Super Earth' this planet is in the 'Goldilocks Zone' so it has perfect conditions for life. Though this planet is 40 something light years away do you believe that the discovery of this planet will contribute greatly to astronomy and planetary science? And if so how do you believe it will contribute?
- Keywords:
  astronomy,
  discovery,
  Goldilocks Zone,
  planet,
  Super Earth
Asked by aoifeomara to Arlene, Colin, David, Eugene, Paul on 15 Nov 2012.
- Paul Higgins answered on 15 Nov 2012:
  
  It may contribute a lot if we can determine what its atmosphere is like, and if it has a magnetic field. Currently, we only know how far away it is from the star- so it might be the right temperature for water to be a liquid. However, it may have a very dense atmosphere, like venus, so that it will keep all the heat in, and it will be too hot. On the other hand, if it does not have a magnetic field, any life there would not be protected from space storms (eruptions from the star that the planet orbits). If we can figure out these things, it will be an even bigger discovery!