In the hunt for exoplanets (planets outside of our solar system), one of the things that astronomers have been desperately searching for is another planet like Earth that’s capable of supporting life. It’s been a close thing, so far. Astronomers have found Earth-sized planets in other solar systems. They have found planets in the “habitable zone” (an orbit where temperatures would be potentially conducive to life) of other solar systems. But they haven’t found an Earth-sized planet in the habitable zone of another star.
Until now.
Today, NASA has announced that its Kepler telescope has uncovered a new solar system about 500 light years away, currently dubbed Kepler 186. Circling that star are five planets, and the outermost planet, Kepler-186f, is about the size of Earth and within the star’s habitable zone.
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