Scientists find closest thing yet to Earth-sun twin system

This is the first Earth-like planet found orbiting a Sun-like star.

If the assumptions of planetary geologists are correct, he said, Kepler-452b could have a thicker atmosphere than Earth’s, as well as active volcanoes.

Keplar-452b’s star has the same surface temperature and type as that of the sun, and is a G2 star. Only a handful have been less than twice the size of Earth and in the habitable zones of the stars they orbit.

Astronomer Dr Daniel Huber has worked with NASA on the $800 million mission to find another earth, and said the discovery of Kepler 452b is revolutionary.

The affirmation of Kepler-452b brings the full variety of confirmed planets to 1,030.

“Briefly speaking, it’s a rocky planet at the distance where water can exist on the surface”, said Paul Hertz, director of NASA’s astrophysics division. Kepler-452b’s star appears a bit larger and brighter. Over the six years since the Kepler Space Telescope launched, scientists have concluded Earth-like planets are common throughout the galaxy.

The Earth’s “twin” also orbits a star similar to the sun in a “habitable zone”. The planet, which is about 60% bigger than Earth, is located about 1,400 light years away in the constellation Cygnus, the scientists told a news conference yesterday.

NASA has announced the discovery of the most Earth-like exoplanet to date. The sun-like star is 1.5 billion years older than the Earth’s host star which would make it 20 percent more luminous at the planet.

With four years of data from the Kepler telescope, researchers from NASA and the Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence Institute (SETI) reported their discovery of Kepler 452b along with 11 other possibly inhabitable exoplanets and 500 potential candidates.

This artist’s rendering made available by NASA on Thursday, July 23, 2015 shows a comparison between the Earth, left, and the planet Kepler-452b.

Scientists have identified a “close cousin” to Earth that’s orbiting a sun-like star and might harbor life.

Kepler-452b wasn’t the only big news today.

Named Kepler 452b, the planet – which is about 60 per cent larger than our own – is squarely inside the “Goldilocks zone”, making alien life a possibility.

“It’s awe-inspiring to consider that this planet has spent 6 billion years in the habitable zone of its star; longer than Earth”, Jenkins said. Once detected, the planet’s orbital size and mass can be determined.

Currently, those who discovered the planet are now listening out for signals from Kepler 452, its sun, but are quite challenged as no data has developed yet.