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SPACE — Scientists have discovered more than 4,000 exoplanets or planets outside the solar system since 1995. According to NASA’s Exoplanet Exploration page, more than half of them were discovered by NASA’s Kepler space telescope, which was launched in 2009. Kepler does develop missions to confirm planets. . Similar to the earth in the entire Milky Way galaxy.

Finding an ‘alien Earth’ has actually been a dream of astronomers for a long time. However, recent planetary discovery missions show small rocky worlds like Earth abound in the galaxy, and 10 of them most closely resemble our beloved Earth.

To qualify to be hospitable to life, a planet must be relatively small and rocky, and orbit its star within the habitable zone. That is, the planet is at a distance that would allow liquid water to survive on its surface. Furthermore, the supporting factors are investigated, such as the composition of the planet’s atmosphere and how active the parent star is.

Here are the 10 most Earth-like planets ever launched Space.com on Saturday, January 22, 2022:

1. Gliese 667CC

This is an artist’s impression of the Gliese 667Cc. (Image credit: ESO/L. Calçada)

Discovered with the European Southern Observatory’s 3.6-meter telescope in Chile, Gliese 667Cc is located just 22 light-years from Earth and about 4.5 times as massive. According to NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Gliese 667Cc orbits its parent star, red drawf, in just 28 days. The good news is that the little red star is much colder than the sun. Therefore, Gliese is estimated to be in the habitable zone. However, the planet may orbit too close to be burned by flares from the red drawf.

2. Kepler-22B

Kepler-22b is 600 light-years from Earth and about 2.4 times as massive. It is the first planet that Kepler has discovered that is in the habitable zone of its parent star. It is not clear whether the planet is rocky, liquid, or gaseous. Kepler-22b orbits its star for 290 days, just as Earth orbits the sun for 365 days. In addition, this exoplanet also orbits a G-type star like our sun. However, this star is smaller and cooler than Earth.

3. Kepler-69C

Kepler-69c is about 2,700 light-years from Earth and 70 percent larger. Researchers are said to be unsure about its composition. The planet completes one orbit every 242 days. This is comparable to Venus in our solar system. However, Kepler-69c’s parent star is about 80 percent as bright as the sun, so the planet appears to be in the habitable zone.

4. Kepler-62F

The planet is about 40 percent larger than Earth and orbits a star much colder than our sun. It orbits its star for 267 days, placing Kepler-62f on the list of habitable zones. Kepler-62f is located about 1,200 light-years from Earth and because of its large size, allows the planet to be rocky and potentially harbor oceans.

5. Kepler-186f

The planet is about 10 percent larger than Earth and appears to be in the habitable zone of its star, though that’s unlikely. This is because Kepler-186f receives very little energy from its star, about a third of what Earth gets from the sun. The parent star Kepler-186f is a small, faint red star; red dwarf. This planet is located about 500 light years from Earth.

6. Kepler-442b

This exoplanet is 33 percent larger than Earth and orbits its star every 112 days. Kepler-442, which can be found 1,194 light-years from Earth, was first announced in 2015. A study published in the Monthly Notice of the Royal Astronomical Society in 2021, found that the exoplanet may receive enough light to support its massive biosphere. . The researchers also analyzed the possibility that Kepler-442b is capable of photosynthesis. They found that Kepler-442b received sufficient radiation from its star.

7. Kepler-452b

Announced in 2015, Kepler-452b is the first planet to be closest in size to Earth and orbit around a star that is also the size of the sun. Kepler-452b also takes only 20 days longer to orbit its star than Earth, or 385 days. According to NASA, Kepler-452b is 60 percent larger than Earth and its parent star, Kepler-452, is 10 percent larger than the sun. Kepler-452 is so similar to our sun that exoplanets are known to orbit in the habitable zone. According to its discoverers, with a size 1.6 times larger than Earth, Kepler-452b has a better chance of matching our planet. Kepler-452b is 1,400 light years from Earth.

8. Kepler-1649c

When data from NASA’s Kepler space telescope was reanalyzed in 2020, scientists discovered Kepler 1649c. The exoplanet was found to be similar in size to Earth and orbiting in the habitable zone of its star. Kepler-1649c is 300 light-years from Earth and 1.06 times as massive. When comparing the light that the two planets receive from their star, scientists found that Kepler-1649c receives 75 percent of the light that Earth receives from the sun.

9. Proxima Centauri b

Proxima Centauri b is located just four light years from Earth, making it the closest known exoplanet. According to NASA Exoplanet Exploration, the planet discovered in 2016 has a mass 1.27 times the mass of Earth. Despite being in the habitable zone of its star, Proxima Centauri is exposed to extreme ultraviolet radiation. This is because it is very close to its parent star and has an orbital period of only 11.2 days.

10. Trappist 1

Orbiting the star Trappist-1, this planet is closest to Earth and is in the habitable zone of a single star system. The planetary system (a number of planets containing a single star like the Solar System), consists of seven planets. Water in most planetary systems may have evaporated early in the formation of the ‘TRAPPIST-1e System’. However, a 2018 study found that some of the planets in this system can hold more water than Earth’s oceans. The planet TRAPPIST-1e is thought to be the most likely to support life as we know it.

To note, now NASA has launched the James Webb Space Telescope one of them to see in more detail these planets. The telescope, which arrived in orbit earlier this week, was even able to peer deep into the universe’s starting point, the Big Bang.

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