Countless science fiction films and series deal with the distant future, when humanity will have discovered the new Earth, a planet in another star system, which is similar to our own and has the right conditions for the existence and support of life. We may not have managed to colonize the universe yet, but we may have found the planet!
In a recent announcement, NASA announced the discovery of Kepler-186f, the fifth planet orbiting the red dwarf Kepler-186, in a star system located in the direction of the constellation Cygnus and 490 light-years away from our own.
The new Earth is about 10% larger in diameter than our planet and takes 130 Earth days to orbit its star. The planet is located in the “habitable zone,” a region at the right distance from its star to have liquid water, which could lead to the existence of life.
Early estimates suggest the planet is rocky, but its mass and density have not yet been analyzed. This is expected to change in the near future and after NASA's new powerful telescopes become operational, we will have a clearer picture!
