Story highlights Closest habitable planet to earth discovered 14 light years away

There could be billions of other habitable worlds in our galaxy

(CNN) Alien life could be closer to us than previously thought. Scientists have just discovered the nearest habitable planet to Earth.

The new world is one of three surrounding a red dwarf star called Wolf 1061, which is just 14 light years away. It was detected by scientists at the University of New South Wales (UNSW) in Australia.

All three planets have the potential to be solid and rocky, but only Wolf 1061c exists within the "Goldilocks zone" -- a distance from the star (much smaller and cooler than our sun) that is not too hot and not too cold for liquid water.

"This rare discovery is incredibly exciting," UNSW's Duncan Wright, who led the study, told CNN.

"Other planets found that are habitable are not nearly this close to Earth. Because of the close proximity of this planet to us, there is good opportunity to find out more about it."

Read More