In this artistic rendering, the planet Kepler-438b is shown in front of its violent parent star as it is being regularly irradiated by huge flares, which renders the planet uninhabitable. (University of Warwick) Located some 470 light years away from the Earth in the constellation Lyra, Kepler-438b has been dubbed the most Earth-like exoplanet since its discovery by NASA earlier this year. Orbiting... 

NASA scientists have found the first planet outside of the solar system that could be similar to Earth and capable of sustaining life. Unlike other similarly sized planets, the newly-discovered one lies in a “habitable zone” near a sun-like star. While looking for possibly hospitable planets outside the solar system, the Kepler telescope has recently found a planet some 1,400 light years away,... 

The artist’s concept depicts Kepler-62f, a super-Earth-size planet in the habitable zone of a star smaller and cooler than the sun, located about 1,200 light-years from Earth in the constellation Lyra. Life on Earth-like planets can exist at least ten times farther away from their stars than previously thought, scientists found, putting in question our whole perspective on habitable zone distances. A... 

Astronomers have found a record number of super-Earths orbiting in the habitable zone of a known star, 22 light years away from Earth. The planets, which have three suns, have one side illuminated at all times while the other is submerged in darkness. The Gliese 667C star in the constellation of Scorpion has been well studied before. However, as a result of new observations the scientists made a stunning... 

The mission has discovered “two new planetary systems that include three super-Earth-size planets in the ‘habitable zone,’ the range of distance from a star where the surface temperature of an orbiting planet might be suitable for liquid water.” Five planets are in the Kepler-62 system, and two planets are in the Kepler-69 system. Two planets from the Kepler-62 system–62e and 62f–and one...