Scientists say they discovered an Earth-like planet orbiting the star closest to our planet other than the Sun. It is the closest planet ever found outside our solar system that could support life as we know it. This exoplanet is just 4.2 light years away from us. It is so close that space scientists have likened it to a next door neighbor. They say it could be reached by an unmanned spacecraft before the end of the century in time for people alive today to see it. An international team of astronomers found the planet orbiting the star Proxima Centauri. The scientific publication Nature published their findings last month. Scientists have long thought that a planet with water and a not-too-hot, but not-too-cold climate are important for life. That is, if the planet has an atmosphere.