Astronomers launch Project Blue to find 'Sister Earths'

Scientists have launched an ambitious campaign to capture the first direct images of an Earth-like planet outside of our solar system. It's thought that our closest stellar neighbor, a binary star system known as Alpha Centauri, may be home to rocky'sister Earth' planets, making it a key target in the search for alien life. Now, the initiative known as Project Blue is hoping to raise $175,000 for its engineering design phase, which will allow them to create a'blueprint' for the spacecraft that will one day scour Alpha Centauri for other'pale blue dots.' Project Blue plans to launch a specially-designed telescope into low-Earth orbit. This will allow the craft to operate without any distortion from Earth's atmosphere. An artist's impression of the telescope is pictured The Alpha Centauri star system is 25 trillion miles (4.37 light years) away.