Astronomers have found that there are at least ten exoplanets which are situated in such a way that they can analyse the transits of Earth.
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Here are the 7 things to know about this discovery:
1. This finding was revealed after astronomers from Queen's University Belfast in the UK and the Max Planck Institute for Solar System Research in Germany thought of coming up with this finding.
2. Parts of the distant sky were detected by the researchers from where many planets present in our Solar System could be observed passing in front of the Sun.
"Larger planets would naturally block out more light as they pass in front of their star," said Robert Wells, a Ph.D. student at Queen's University Belfast.
"However the more important factor is actually how close the planet is to its parent star - since the terrestrial planets are much closer to the Sun than the gas giants, they'll be more likely to be seen in transit," said Wells, lead author of the study published in the journal Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society.
3. The astronomers were searching for civilisations which would have the best chance of detecting our Solar System. They searched for spots from the sky from where more than one planet could be observed passing by the Sun.
4. It was found that a maximum of three planets could be seen from anywhere outside our Solar System, while the combinations of all the three planets were not possible.
"We estimate that a randomly positioned observer would have roughly a 1 in 40 chance of observing at least one planet," said Katja Poppenhaeger, from Queen's University Belfast.
"The probability of detecting at least two planets would be about ten times lower, and to detect three would be a further ten times smaller than this," Poppenhaeger said further.
5. The astronomers spotted sixty-eight more exoplanets from where it would be possible to see one or more planets transit the Sun in our Solar System.
6. Nine of these exoplanets were found to be located in a way that they could analyse Earth's transit. None of these planets are estimated to be habitable.
7. The researchers also believe that there are around 10 more such worlds which are habitable and are yet to be discovered. These planets are located in such a way that they can detect Earth. So far no life supporting planets have been discovered with the present technology that could spot Earth.
