Space & Astronomy

New Earth-like extrasolar planet discovered

By T.K. Randall
January 7, 2015 ·  18 comments

Has the Kepler Space Telescope discovered a second Earth ? Image Credit: NASA The discovery was announced at the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics in Seattle on Tuesday and represents a major step forward in the search for other habitable worlds.

Kepler 438b is slightly larger and warmer than the Earth and orbits an orange dwarf star around 470 light years away. Its size and location places it within the 'Goldilocks' zone of its solar system where the temperature is just right for liquid water to flow on its surface.

[google]The planet was one of eight other potentially habitable extrasolar planets revealed during the American Astronomical Society meeting, with Kepler 438b being the most likely to support life. Another strong possibility is Kepler 442b which lies in the same constellation and is slightly larger.

It isn't clear if these distant worlds possess an atmosphere or if conditions there are suitable for life to survive, but with the upcoming James Webb Space Telescope and others like it we may soon be able to determine once and for all whether there really are other habitable worlds out there in the cosmos just waiting to be discovered.

Source: The Guardian | Comments (18)

Tags: Earth, Extrasolar Planet