Matt Ridley from the UK: The great filter

The search for another world that can sustain life is getting warmer. We now know of 1,879 planets outside the solar system. 

A few weeks ago, we (the planetary we, that is: no thanks to me) found Earth’s twin, a planet of similar size and a habitable distance from its sun, but 1,400 light years from here. Last week we found a rocky planet close to a star just 21 light years away, which means if anybody lives there and tunes in to us, they could be watching the first episode of Friends.