The scientific journal NATURE has published in its issue dated 26 January 2006, a major paper on the discovery of the smallest extrasolar planet ever.
It is the first time that a planet with a solid crust, resembling in size our own Earth, has been observed circling around another star than our Sun.
The European Southern Observatory ESO contributed to this publication by an international group of scientists and has produced a Video News Release featuring new 3-D graphics, background footage and interview soundbites.
Contains beautiful pictures and animations of stars, galaxies and planets.
Animation about how they found the new planet.

10:00:54:00
Until 10 years ago, astronomers had speculated about the existence of planets outside our Solar System. Then, in 1995,the first such planet orbiting another star was discovered. Since then about 170planets have been found, which suggests that they are common in the Universe. However, all the planets discovered so far are rather different from those in our own Solar System. Many of them are much more massive than even the largest planet in our Solar System, Jupiter. In addition, their orbits required new theories of planet formation, the planets being either too close or too far from their host star. This prompts the question of whether ourSolar System is still unique in having formed and evolved the way it did and in being able to harbour life.
10:01:50:00
Now, however, an international team of astronomers have found a new planetary system very much like our own. Using the Danish 1.5-m telescope at the ESO La Silla Paranal Observatory in the Chilean Atacama desert, they have found a planet, 25 0