There's an Earth-like planet with an atmosphere just 39 light-years away
Source: Washington Post
There are a lot of good reasons to be captivated by the exoplanet GJ 1132b. Located in the constellation Vela, it's a mere 39 light-years from Earth — just a hop, skip and a jump in galactic terms. It's similar to Earth in terms of size and mass, and it dances in a close-in orbit around its star, a dimly burning red dwarf.
And, astronomers recently discovered, it has an atmosphere.
The finding, published in the Astronomical Journal, is the first detection of an atmosphere around a terrestrial “Earth-like” planet orbiting a red dwarf star — and it suggests there could be millions more.
Although the researchers call the planet “Earth-like,” the term is only applicable in its broadest sense. GJ 1132b is so close to its sun that it more likely resembles Venus than Earth. Astronomers estimate its average temperature to be about 700 degrees Fahrenheit, and that's without taking into account the potential greenhouse effect of its atmosphere. It is also probably tidally locked, meaning that gravity keeps one side of the planet constantly facing the star, while the other is cast in permanent shadow. GJ 1132b would not make a cozy home for life — at least, not life as we know it.
But the presence of an atmosphere around the exoplanet could have consequences in the search for life on worlds beyond our own, according to lead author John Southworth, an astrophysicist at Keele University in the United Kingdom. Red dwarfs like the one GJ 1132b orbits are the most abundant type of star in the universe, and exoplanet surveys suggest that terrestrial planets around them are also common. If one of them has an atmosphere, then why not more?
Read more: https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/speaking-of-science/wp/2017/04/07/theres-an-earth-like-planet-with-an-atmosphere-just-39-light-years-away/
= new reply since forum marked as read
we use a nuke to redirect a large asteroid at it to slingshot around and start it spinning on a day cycle.
Then the moment the atmosphere equalizes we GO.
WHY IS NOBODY STARTING TO BUILD THE SHIP??
they're watching Dallas and Happy Days beamed from Earth. Probably wondering..."who the hell are those primates?! 
No intelligent life on THAT planet."
At least they've got another year before the Dukes of Hazzard 1st season arrives. Subjecting the galaxy to Bo and Luke is reason enough for exterminating us. 
