This NASA artist's concept obtained July 23, 2015 compares Earth (left) to the new planet, called Kepler-452b, which is about 60 percent larger in diameter. (AFP)
CAPE CANAVERAL, FLA. (AP) -- Scientists have identified the best bet yet for an Earth-like planet that might harbor life.
“It is the closest thing that we have to another place that somebody else might call home,” said Jon Jenkins from NASA’s Ames Research Center in California.
The researchers announced their discovery Thursday based on observations from NASA's Kepler space telescope.
This older, bigger cousin to Earth is called Kepler-452b. What makes this planet remarkable is that it orbits its star at about the same distance that Earth orbits the sun. What's more, its home star looks to be similar to our sun.
Scientists say it's the closest thing we have to another Earth-sun twin system. One unanswered question is whether the planet is rocky. Scientists say there's a better than even chance it is.
The planet is in a solar system that is 1,400 light years from our own, located in the Constellation Cygnus, or swan.
"So pack your bags, it’s a long trip,” joked Jenkins.
Planet 452b is among more than 500 new entries listed in the Kepler team’s latest catalog of exoplanet candidates released Thursday. Kepler identifies potential planets by looking for periodic blips against the brightness of stars — some 150,000 stars to be exact.
Of those 500-plus new potential planets, 12 are less than twice Earth’s diameter and also orbiting in the so-called habitable zone of their star, also known as the just-right Goldilocks zone.
Kepler 452b is the first of those 12 to be confirmed as a true planet, thanks to ground observations.
Altogether, the catalog now includes 4,696 exoplanet candidates. Slightly more than 1,000 of them — 1,030 — are confirmed to be planets. - AP
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