Researchers have found a new planet having the size of earth. They claim that the newly discovered planet is supposed to be 490 light-years away from our planet and it can sustain life. An official of Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence (SETI) Institute at NASA claimed that “this is the only planet found in the habitable zone which is of same size of the earth”. She further said that finding such planets is the primary objective of Kepler space telescope.
It goes without saying that, in 2011, Kepler space telescope had also discovered 5 other planets of the similar size of earth and they were also considered as habitable planets. But, they were slightly larger than the size of earth and were too gaseous and rocky.
Besides, Quintana told reporters that “the planets which have the size of Kepler-186f may have the composition of ice, rock and iron and this is ideal composition for life sustainability. But, Thomas Barclay of NASA’s Kepler mission declined this view. He said that unless we do not know the condition of atmosphere, we cannot determine that the newly discovered planet could be habitable for life.
Apart from this, senior scientists suggest that Webb space-based telescope- which is under construction- should be used for studying the atmosphere of Kepler-186f and that telescope can be of great help for knowing about the condition of close dwarfs.
Last but not the least Quintana said that this is just a beginning; we are going to discover more earth-sized planets in few months to come.
