Things don't look good for Gliese 581g, the first planet found
orbiting in the habitable zone of another star. The first
official challenge to the small, hospitable world looks in the
exact same data -- and finds no significant sign of the planet.
"For the time being, the world does not have data that's good
enough to claim the planet," said astro-statistics expert Philip
Gregory of the University of British Columbia, author of the new
The "first habitable exoplanet" already has a chequered history.
When it was announced last September, Gliese 581g was heralded
as the first known planet that could harbour alien life. The
planet orbits its dim parent star once every 36.6 days, placing
it smack in the middle of the star's habitable zone, the not-
too-hot, not-too-cold region where liquid water could be stable.
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