NASA's Kepler mission has announced the discovery of a larger, older "cousin" of Earth, potentially bringing us a step closer to the realization we are not alone in the universe.
The near-Earth-size planet, dubbed Kepler-452b, is orbiting within the habitable zone (the distance at which liquid water is possible) of a G2-type star, like our sun.
"On the 20th anniversary year of the discovery that proved other suns host planets, the Kepler exoplanet explorer has discovered a planet and star which most closely resemble the Earth and our sun," said John Grunsfeld, associate administrator of NASA's Science Mission Directorate at the agency's headquarters in Washington. "This exciting result brings us one step closer to finding an Earth 2.0."
The Kepler-452 system is located 1,400 light-years away in the constellation Cygnus. It exists in a solar system with five other known planets. Kepler-452b is believed to have a diameter 60 percent larger than Earth, and while its mass has not been concretely determined, it is estimated to be about five times more massive than Earth, according to a NASA press conference. The researchers also believe the planet has a good chance of being rocky, meaning it would be very similar to our home planet and is characterized by active volcanoes and more cloud cover than is seen on Earh.
The fascinating planet has a 385-day orbit, which is only about 5 percent longer than our own orbit, and is only about 5 percent farther away from its host star. The parent star is estimated to be about six billion years old, which is 1.5 billion years older than our sun. It is also believed to be about the same temperature as the Sun, and about 10 percent larger and 20 percent brighter.
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