NASA Discovers 'Earth 2.0'
NASA has discovered a far away planet that closely resembles the Earth in terms of its distance from the sun and the constitution of its surface.
NASA said the planet is called Kepler-452b and that in the course of discovering the planet they also discovered 11 other planets they believe could also be located in habitable zones. A habitable zone is the sweet spot between the distance from a star that scientists are positive is possible for the creation of life and is basically the distance between the Earth and our Sun as we know this has allowed life to begin and flourish. The ability for water to form pools is the key criteria, as water is the key component of all life.
"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."
Kepler-452b's orbit around its Sun is only 5 percent longer, or 20 days more, than it takes for our planet to revolve around the sun. Crucially, the star around which Kepler-452b orbits is also remarkably similar to our own, further increasing the likelihood the planet can support life. The star is the same temperature as our Sun, 1.6 billion years older and 10 percent larger.
The largest difference between our planet and Kepler-452b is the size, as Kepler-452b is roughly 60 percent larger.
"We can think of Kepler-452b as an older, bigger cousin to Earth, providing an opportunity to understand and reflect upon Earth's evolving environment," said Jon Jenkins, Kepler data analysis lead at NASA's Ames Research Center in Moffett Field, California, who led the team that discovered Kepler-452b. "It's awe-inspiring to consider that this planet has spent 6 billion years in the habitable zone of its star; longer than Earth. That's substantial opportunity for life to arise, should all the necessary ingredients and conditions for life exist on this planet."
