UCSC ASTRONOMER HELPS FIND PLANET 12/21/12 8:20a.m. PMD

A PLANET CAPABLE OF SUPPORTING LIFE HAS BEEN DISCOVERED.   U-C-S-C ASTRONOMER AND ASTROPHYSICIST, STEVEN S. VOGT, WHO SPECIALIZES IN PLANET HUNTING, IS PART OF AN INTERNATIONAL TEAM OF ASTRONOMERS WHO MADE THE DISCOVERY.   THE ASTRONOMERS USING REFINED TECHNIQUES DISCOVERED THE PLANET, WHICH ORBITS   THE SUN-LIKE-STAR, TAU CETI.   THE PLANET IS 5-TIMES THE SIZE OF EARTH, MAKING IT THE SMALLEST PLANET FOUND IN AN INHABITABLE ZONE, AND AT ONLY 12- LIGHT YEARS FROM EARTH, IT IS ALSO THE CLOSEST.