Because Earth is the only planet known to host life as we know it, researchers have usually focused on planetary systems similar to our own when searching for extraterrestrial life.
Planets may form differently around binary stars than they do near loners like our Sun. The finding could lead to new targets in the search for alien life.
Researchers are studying the potential of habitable planets forming within multi-star systems. Research is studying a binary star system 1,000 light-years away to look for habitable planets and, as have discovered, habitable planets could in fact exist.