Earth-like planet discovered. Let’s go!

Don’t we want to get there before the Romulans do?

Astronomers say they have for the first time spotted a planet beyond our own in what is sometimes called the Goldilocks zone for life: Not too hot, not too cold. Juuuust right.

Not too far from its star, not too close. So it could contain liquid water. The planet itself is neither too big nor too small for the proper surface, gravity and atmosphere.

It’s just right. Just like Earth.

Well, maybe not just like Earth.

It is about three times the mass of Earth, slightly larger in width and much closer to its star — 14 million miles away versus 93 million. It’s so close to its version of the sun that it orbits every 37 days. And it doesn’t rotate much, so one side is almost always bright, the other dark.

Or am I being too picky? It is promising. And if we’ve found one promising planet, surely there are other, even more promising planets to follow. Right?

So how far to this place?

The planet circles a star called Gliese 581. It’s about 120 trillion miles away…

…or, as this Free Republic commenter notes:

…about one mile away for every dollar of shortfall in the federal budget going out 50 years.

That’s 20.4 light years. Or thereabouts. So. Hey, NASA, where’s that warp drive you promised us?