After dropping some major hints, NASA confirmed in a press release that it had indeed found the "first near-Earth-size planet in the 'habitable zone' around a sun-like star." The new planet is called Kepler-452b and it is 60 percent larger in diameter than Earth. Although the mass and composition of this "super-Earth-size planet" are not yet known, NASA says its surface is rocky. Kepler-452b's discovery marks the 1,030th confirmed planet in the universe, and also a big moment in the search for another "Earth."
"Exoplanets, especially small Earth-size worlds, belonged within the realm of science fiction just 21 years ago," NASA said in a press release. "Today, and thousands of discoveries later, astronomers are on the cusp of finding something people have dreamed about for thousands of years — another Earth."
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