A new Earth-like planet was discovered thanks to HARPS (High Accuracy Radial Velocity for Planetary Searcher), a spectrograph that's one of the best instruments for detecting exoplanets.

The planet is about 50% larger and 5 times heavier than Earth. It orbits Gliese 581 -- a diminutive "red dwarf" star located in the constellation Libra. The planet is being named Gliese 581 C.

Gliese 581 C is the smallest planet ever found outside of our solar system and the first planet that meets scientists' standards of being potentially hospitable to life. Under current standards that scientists use to declare a planet habitable, Mars should also be able to host life.

The illustration above simulates Gliese 581 C as it orbits the red dwarf star Gliese 581.

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