Kepler Finds First Earth-Size Planets Beyond Our Solar System Found
MOFFET FIELD, Calif. — The Kepler mission discovered the first Earth-size planets orbiting a sun-like star outside our solar system. The planets, called Kepler-20e and Kepler-20f, are too close to their star to be in the so-called habitable zone where liquid water could exist on a planet’s surface, but they are the smallest exoplanets ever confirmed around a star like our sun.

The discovery marks the next important milestone in the ultimate search for planets like Earth. The new planets are thought to be rocky. Kepler-20e is slightly smaller than Venus, measuring …

SETI search now focused on stars with planets
The Search for Extra Terrestrial Intelligence is once again back on. Last April SETI had to turn off their equipment due to a lack of funding. Recently they raised enough money through private donations to turn the large array of telescopes towards the stars again. This time they will have increased the odds of finding something.

The Kepler mission has recently found the first planet that is orbiting another star within the habitable zone. This means we have now officially found another planet that could have earth like conditions…for life. In the last 18 …

First planet in zone that could support life found
(Source – NASA): This diagram compares our own solar system to Kepler-22, a star system containing the first “habitable zone” planet discovered by NASA’s Kepler mission. The habitable zone is the sweet spot around a star where temperatures are right for water to exist in its liquid form. Liquid water is essential for life on Earth.

Kepler-22′s star is a bit smaller than our sun, so its habitable zone is slightly closer in. The diagram shows an artist’s rendering of the planet comfortably orbiting within the habitable zone, similar to where Earth circles …