This
artist's concept depicts Kepler-186f, the first validated Earth-size planet to
orbit a distant star in the habitable zone -- a range of distance from a star
where liquid water might pool on the planet's surface. The discovery of
Kepler-186f confirms that Earth-size planets exist in the habitable zones of
other stars and signals a significant step closer to finding a world similar to
Earth.
The
size of Kepler-186f is known to be less than ten percent larger than Earth, but
its mass, composition and density are not known. Previous research suggests
that a planet the size of Kepler-186f is likely to be rocky. Prior to this
discovery, the "record holder" for the most "Earth-like"
planet went to Kepler-62f, which is 40 percent larger than the size of Earth
and orbits in its star's habitable zone.
Kepler-186f
orbits its star once every 130 days and receives one-third the energy that
Earth does from the sun, placing it near the outer edge of the habitable zone.
If you could stand on the surface of Kepler-186f, the brightness of its star at
high noon would appear as bright as our sun is about an hour before sunset on
Earth.
Kepler-186f
resides in the Kepler-186 system about 500 light-years from Earth in the
constellation Cygnus. The system is also home to four inner planets, seen lined
up in orbit around a host star that is half the size and mass of the sun.
The
artistic concept of Kepler-186f is the result of scientists and artists
collaborating to imagine the appearance of these distant worlds.
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