Potentially habitable planet discovered 146 light years away
- Scientists have discovered HD 137010 b, an exoplanet potentially similar to Earth but with surface temperatures possibly colder than Mars.
- Discovered using data from Nasa's retired Kepler Space Telescope, this rocky planet is slightly larger than Earth and orbits a Sun-like star 146 light years away with an orbital period similar to our own.
- Despite potentially falling within its star's 'habitable zone', the planet receives less than a third of Earth's heat.
- That suggests surface temperatures around -68 degrees Celsius, though a carbon dioxide-rich atmosphere could make it temperate.
- An international team led by Alexander Venner published the findings in The Astrophysical Journal Letters, noting its significance for future follow-up observations of Earth-like exoplanets.
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