Finally found Earth`s sister…well sort of

NASA announced its planet-hunting $600 million Kepler telescope found a potential Earth twin, the planet called Kepler-22b, orbiting a star much like our own sun with a year of 290 days; has a pleasant surface temperature of 72 degrees and said to have water and lots of it – some scientists saying so much water that the whole planet is covered with it. And oh, it is over 600 light-years away

Now the planet is actually 2.4 times the size of earth with a possible gas-liquid atmosphere. Even if it seems uninhabitable by our standards and current technology, this is just the start of finding the much sought after Earth twin planets.

Since the launch of Kepler in 2009, it has identified 2,236 candidate planets of which 139 are potentially habitable – and Kepler has just begun the search. However, the best opportunity for finding alien life in the universe is the SETI project, a major vast complex of 42 radio telescopes but now stands idle as the funds dried up.

Source: NASA. The Washington Post. Published on December 5, 2011, 5:48 p.m.

Video: A newly discovered planet is eerily similar to Earth and is sitting outside our solar system in what seems to be the ideal place for life. The planet's confirmation was announced Monday by NASA along with other Kepler telescope discoveries. (Dec. 5) -WashingtonPost

Resources:

NASA's Kepler Mission Confirms Its First Planet in Habitable Zone of Sun-like Star

NASA finds new planet Kepler 22b outside solar system with temperature right for life

NASA: Kepler Mission Page