Earth 2.0: could life exist on newly discovered planet?

Scientists have discovered the most Earth-like planet yet seen, boosting their hopes of finding extraterrestrial life.

Researchers from Nasa, the Seti Institute and several universities made the discovery using data provided by the Kepler space telescope.

The new planet, dubbed Kepler-452b, is "the closest twin to Earth, or the Earth 2.0, that we've found so far," said Nasa's John Grunsfeld.

Subscribe to The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Sign up

How similar to Earth is it?

The planet is 1,400 light years away in the constellation Cygnus and research suggests that it is roughly five times larger than Earth. Kepler-452b orbits a large star similar to our Sun at an almost identical distance, completing its orbit in 385 days.

This distance means surface temperatures on the planet would be suitable for water, a critical condition for life. "It would feel a lot like home, from the standpoint of the sunshine that you would experience," lead researcher Jon Jenkins told Space.com

What is the significance of the discovery?

Due to these conditions, Kepler-452b has a "substantial opportunity" to host life, says Nasa. Scientists predict that if plants were transferred there, they would probably survive.

"We're trying to answer really fundamental questions," Grunsfeld said. "Where are we going as human beings, and of course the really grand question: are we alone in the universe?"

As the planet's host star is 1.5bn year's older than the sun, scientists believe Kepler-452b could also point to a possible future for the earth, the BBC reports.

"The increasing energy from its aging sun might be heating the surface and evaporating any oceans. The water vapour would be lost from the planet forever," explained Dr Doug Caldwell, a scientist involved in the mission.

"Kepler-452b could be experiencing now what the Earth will undergo more than a billion years from now, as the Sun ages and grows brighter."