NASA Finds Potentially Habitable Earth-sized Exoplanet

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Scientists have discovered a theoretically habitable, Earth-size planet | CNN

Two teams of scientists have discovered a theoretically habitable planet, smaller than Earth but bigger than Venus , orbiting a small star about 40 light-years away.

Since its star is so much smaller than the sun, Gliese 12b still falls within the habitable zone — the ideal distance away from a star where liquid water can exist — even though it completes its orbit every 12.8 days.

Working on the assumption that the exoplanet doesn't have an atmosphere, scientists calculated its surface temperature to be around 107 degrees Fahrenheit (42 degrees Celsius).

"We've found the nearest, transiting, temperate, Earth-size world located to date," said Masayuki Kuzuhara, a project assistant professor at the Astrobiology Center in Tokyo and co-leader of one of the research teams with Akihiko Fukui, a project assistant professor at the University of Tokyo, in a statement.

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Potentially habitable Earth-like exoplanet discovered 40 light-years away

Astronomers have discovered a potentially habitable Earth-like exoplanet, Gliese 12b, situated 40 light years away, according to a recent study.

Scientists have confirmed "Gliese 12b," an exoplanet orbiting a "cool red dwarf star every 12.76 days within the habitable zone (or Goldilocks Zone)," with an "estimated surface temperature of 42⁘C (107⁘F)," which could support "liquid water."

At only "40 light-years away," Gliese 12b has been described as one of the "the nearest, transiting, temperate, Earth-size world located to date," with a radius just "1.0 times" that of Earth, making it "one of the smallest exoplanets discovered."

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