When searching for life in the universe, many scientists look for other worlds that may be similar to Earth – in size and in distance from a star. On July 23, 2015, NASA announced such a made such a discovery when they announced Kepler-452b, the first confirmed Earth size planet discovered within the habitable zone of a Sun-like star.
(Credit: NASA)
Kepler-452b was discovered using data from NASA’s Kepler Space Telescope, which searches for planets by detecting the tiny dimming of a star’s light as the planet passes in front of it. This method has allowed astronomers identify thousands of exoplanets, revolutionizing our view and understanding of the universe. The planets is located in the constellation Cyngus and is approximately 1,800 light years away from Earth. It is around 60% larger than our planet, has an orbital distance of 1.04 AU from it star, and completes one orbit every 385 days. It is currently unknown whether the planet has oceans, an atmosphere, or contains life.
The discovery of Kepler-452b showed that our planet and our solar system is not an extraordinary exception. We now believe that across the Milky Way there are many stars with orbiting planets that could possess to conditions suitable for life.
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