[Right] is an artist's impression of the planetary system around the red dwarf Gliese 581.

When a planet outside our solar system bears any resemblance to our own planet (especially relative size), the speculation begins that it may be the home to extraterrestrial life.

A new planet, detected through indirect methods, orbits the star called Gliese 581. Because of its proximity to a star, it is suggested that the planet’s water (if it has any) would not freeze or boil. In the evolutionary belief system, liquid water is the beginning of life.

When a headline in National Geographic proclaims such a planet as “habitable” when it can’t be seen (and we don’t know what chemicals and kind of atmosphere are on the planet, or whether it has water), we would do well to trust what the designer of the universe told us in His Word.