European astronomers look to have discovered the first rocky planet ouside of our humble little solar system. Not only is this a significant find, but the description tends to remind me of a planet where a certain Lord of the Sith lost some appendages and Force-choked his lovely wife. (what kind of a franchise are we fans of anyway?)

From the AP via Yahoo News:

"Scientists have long figured that if life begins on a planet, it needs a solid surface to rest on, so finding one elsewhere is a big deal.

"We basically live on a rock ourselves," said co-discoverer Artie Hatzes, director of the Thuringer observatory in Germany. "It's as close to something like the Earth that we've found so far. It's just a little too close to its sun."

So close that its surface temperature is more than 3,600 degrees Fahrenheit, too toasty to sustain life. It circles its star in just 20 hours, zipping around at 466,000 mph. By comparison, Mercury, the planet nearest our sun, completes its solar orbit in 88 days.

"It's hot, they're calling it the lava planet," Hatzes said."


Click here for the full article. It actually seems as though the planet had been discovered previously (and was reported about here) though it's the "rocky" discovery which makes it a big deal.