The notion of planets orbiting stars other than the sun is not new but advances in technology is bringing us ever closer to finding alien life, explains Mark Evans

Astronomers are standing on a "great threshold" of space exploration that could see evidence of extra-terrestrial life being discovered in the next 20 years, an expert has claimed.

ONCE it is unfurled in orbit in 2013, the world’s biggest space telescope will have an eagle-eyed camera that scientists hope will lift the veil from the origins and mysteries of the universe.