Earth-like exoplanets unlikely to be another 'pale blue dot'

When searching for Earth-like worlds around other stars, instead of looking for the "pale blue dot" described by Carl Sagan, new research suggests that a hunt for dry, cold "pale yellow dots" might have a better chance of success. The near balance of land-to-water that has helped life flourish on Earth could be highly unusual, according to a Swiss-German study presented at the Europlanet Science Congress 2022 in Granada.