The planet, which is about 60 percent bigger than Earth, is located about 1,400 light years away in the constellation Cygnus, the scientists told a news conference on Thursday (July 23).
While similarly sized planets have been found before, the latest one, known as Kepler-452b, is circling a star that is very similar but older than the sun at a distance about the same as Earth’s orbit.
“Today the earth is a little less lonely because there is a new kid on the block who moved in just right next door, in terms of the surface temperature of the star it orbits and the energy it receives from the star,” said Jon Jenkins, Kepler data analysis lead at NASA’s Ames Research Center in Moffett Field, California, who led the team that discovered Kepler-452b told reporters on a conference call.
Based on its size, scientists believe Kepler-452b is rocky and Earth-like and positioned at the right distance for liquid surface water, which is believed to be necessary for life.
The research will be published in an upcoming issue of The Astronomical Journal.