-- It's like finding a needle in a universe-wide haystack. Researchers have located a planet the size of Earth that could be habitable.
Designated Kepler-186f, the planet is 490 light-years away. But in the search for worlds similar to ours, nothing has come closer.
"This is the first definitive Earth-sized planet found in the habitable zone around another star," said Elisa Quintana of the Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence (SETI) Institute at NASA. "Finding such planets is a primary goal of the Kepler space telescope."
"This discovery not only proves the existence of worlds that might be similar to our own but will undoubtedly shape future investigations of exoplanets that could have terrestrial surface environments," the institute said in an announcement Thursday.
http://www.cnn.com/2014/04/17/tech/s...html?hpt=hp_t2
I still await the day we locate a planet that is artificially illuminated. Only a matter of time.
Designated Kepler-186f, the planet is 490 light-years away. But in the search for worlds similar to ours, nothing has come closer.
"This is the first definitive Earth-sized planet found in the habitable zone around another star," said Elisa Quintana of the Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence (SETI) Institute at NASA. "Finding such planets is a primary goal of the Kepler space telescope."
"This discovery not only proves the existence of worlds that might be similar to our own but will undoubtedly shape future investigations of exoplanets that could have terrestrial surface environments," the institute said in an announcement Thursday.
http://www.cnn.com/2014/04/17/tech/s...html?hpt=hp_t2
I still await the day we locate a planet that is artificially illuminated. Only a matter of time.
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