First Ever Earth-Sized Planet Discovered

But it's way too hot for us to move there. Keep on searchin', NASA.

NASA's Kepler Telescope program has discovered a planet some 945 light years away that's almost the exact same size as Earth and orbits a star similar to the sun. The planet, named Kepler 20-f, is the first of that size that mankind has ever discovered outside of our solar system, as all others have been much larger or much smaller. However, Kepler 20-f is much, much closer to the star, as it completes an orbit in just nine days. As such, it's far too hot – 426 C – for humans to live on the planet (not to mention way too far away for us to get there anytime soon), but that there indeed are other planets of similar size to Earth increases the chances for other Earth-size planets to be home to life. The discovery follows another Kepler telescope breakthrough from earlier this month, in which they confirmed the existence of a planet, Kepler 22-b, that orbits within the "habitable" zone, meaning it's neither too hot nor too cold to sustain life. That planet, though, is 2.4 times the size of Earth. So far, the Kepler project has confirmed 28 planets outside of our solar system.

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