In December, a pair calling themselves "The Benevolent Fisted Rulers" offered up 4-hectare plots of Gliese 581 g, the most habitable exoplanet yet discovered, for sale on eBay.
Setting aside the ethics of exoplanetary land grabs, the move seems a touch premature. The alien world is 20 light years away and its very existence is not confirmed. Still, if the planet does exist, it is possible that it has some good exo-real estate.
Raymond Pierrehumbert at the University of Chicago examined the range of climates that Gliese 581 g might have and found one that would have a pool of water on one side, making it look like an eyeball. Even if further observations disprove the existence of Gliese 581 g, the work could help determine the habitability of exo-Earths still to be discovered.
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