Kepler-452b, best second Earth so far

1,400 light-years away in the constellation Cygnus, Kepler-452 is a 6 billion years old Sun-like star. On its orbit, the planet Kepler-452b is 5 percent farther than Earth is from the Sun and 60 percent larger in diameter than Earth. So far, Kepler-452b is the smallest planet discovered orbiting in the habitable zone of a G2-type star, the area around a star where liquid water might exist on the surface.
Today, Kepler-452b is receiving 10 percent more energy from its parent star than the Earth is from the Sun.

Credits: NASA/JPL-Caltech/T. Pyle/R. Hurt

[helloxons]

In relative terms, the distance from earth to this newly discovered planet, Kepler 452b, is equivalent to the distance from the border of northern Maine to central Maine (or for those on the left coast, the border from northern Washington state to its southern part). In other words, we’re in the same state on a galactic level. Now isn’t that interesting?