A newly discovered planet, potentially habitable and Earth-sized, has been found 146 light-years away, but it may be as cold as -70C. This exciting discovery, named HD 137010 b, orbits a sun-like star and is estimated to be 6% larger than Earth. An international team of scientists identified the planet using data from the Nasa Kepler space telescope's extended mission, K2. Dr. Chelsea Huang, a researcher at the University of Southern Queensland, noted that the planet's orbit is similar to Earth's, taking about 355 days to complete one revolution. The researchers believe there's a 50% chance the planet resides in the habitable zone of its star. What makes this discovery particularly exciting is the proximity of the star to our solar system, only 150 light-years away. This makes HD 137010 b a prime target for future observation with next-generation telescopes. However, the star is cooler and dimmer than our sun, which means the planet's surface temperature could be as low as -70C, similar to Mars. Dr. Sara Webb, an astrophysicist at Swinburne University, described the discovery as 'very exciting' but noted that more data is needed to confirm the planet's status as an exoplanet. The team initially doubted the discovery, but after thorough checks, they confirmed it as a textbook example of a planet transit. Despite the planet's proximity, traveling to it would take tens of thousands, if not hundreds of thousands of years at current speeds. The research was published in the Astrophysical Journal Letters this week.
