New Planet Kepler-22b Maybe Habitable

A new planet named Kepler-22b has been discovered, which is 600 light years away.

A diagram comparing our own solar system to Kepler-22, a star system containing the first ‘habitable zone’ planet discovered by NASA’s Kepler mission. Kepler-22b, the most Earth-like planet ever discovered is circling a star 600 light years away, a key finding in an ongoing quest to learn if life exists beyond Earth, scientists said on Monday. Kepler-22b joins a list of more than 500 planets found to orbit stars beyond our solar system. It is the smallest and the best positioned to have liquid water on its surface – among the ingredients necessary for life on Earth.

Photo Illustration/Ames/JPL-Caltech/NASA/Reuters