NASA Describes Kepler-452b as Earth's Bigger, Older Cousin

Posted on July 23, 2015

NASA's Kepler mission has found the first near-Earth-size planet located in the habitable zone of its star. It is the smallest planet found to date orbiting a G2-type star, like our sun. The planet, Kepler-452b, is located in the Kepler-452 system, which is 1,400 light-years away in the constellation Cygnus.

NASA describes Kepler-452b as "Earth's bigger, older cousin." It is 60% larger than the Earth. Kepler-452b orbits its star every 385 days. Kepler-452b's star is 6 billion years old, 1.5 billion years older than our sun. It said to have a good chance of being a rocky planet.

An artist's concept of Kepler-452b is pictured below. The image above is an artistic concept comparing Earth to Kepler-452b. You can view a larger version of the artist's concept here.

Jon Jenkins, Kepler data analysis who led the team that discovered Kepler-452b, says in a statement, "We can think of Kepler-452b as an older, bigger cousin to Earth, providing an opportunity to understand and reflect upon Earth's evolving environment. It's awe-inspiring to consider that this planet has spent 6 billion years in the habitable zone of its star; longer than Earth. That's substantial opportunity for life to arise, should all the necessary ingredients and conditions for life exist on this planet."

11 other new small habitable zone candidates have also been identified. The total number of planet candidates detected by the Kepler mission is now 4,696. The confirmation of Kepler-452b brings the total number of confirmed planets to 1,030.

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