Venus’ Evil Twin or Earth’s Long-Lost Sibling? The Intriguing Case of Gliese 12 b

Recent findings of a Venus-like planet, Gliese 12 b, enhance our search for life-supporting planets, providing a closer look at potential “evil twins” of Earth.

The discovery of a planet similar to Venus around a star in the neighborhood of our Solar System raises hopes that astronomers may someday unlock the secret to why life appeared on Earth.

The study of life in the Universe is difficult because we have only one example of a planet where life has been confirmed: Earth. It is difficult to say which characteristics of Earth are required for life to appear, and which are irrelevant. Until we find an “Earth twin” where the conditions for life also appeared, the best astronomers can do is study “evil twins,” planets with initial conditions similar to Earth that turned out very differently, with environments unsuitable for life.