Earth-Like Planet Discovered by NASA

Discovery Accelerates Question 

of Life Beyond Earth

Source:  NASA Illustration

Planet Kepler-1649c

Have astronomers found another

Earth?  A team of 

international astronomers have

discovered a planet the same size

as the Earth.  Like the Earth,

the planet orbits its Sun Star.

This exoplanet is called Kepler-1649c.

Habitable

The planet seems to have

habitable regions.  It is 

orbiting in its star's habitable

zone.  That is a region around

the star where a rocky planet

could support water.

Remarkable Discovery

The scientists discovered the

Earth-like planet while using

reanalyzed data from NASA's

Kepler space telescope. Kepler

was retired in 2018.  Previous

scans of the data with a computer

algorithm misidentified the

space object.  Astronomers taking

a hard look recognized it to be

a planet.

Space Specifics

The planet is 300 light years

away from the Earth.  Of all the

exoplanets discovered by 

Kepler, this one is most similar

to Earth in size and in 

temperature.  The amount of

light it receives from its star

is 75% of what the Earth

receives from the Sun.  However

one big difference is that the

planet's star is a "Red Dwarf",

which are known for stellar 

flareups.  That could make 

life on the planet a challenge.

Amazing Discoveries

According to NASA Asso.

Director Thomas Zurbuchen,

this discovery gives us greater

hope than ever "that a second

Earth lies among the stars."

He adds, even more amazing

discoveries are on the

horizon.

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