Our Kepler mission has confirmed the first near-Earth-size planet in the “habitable zone” around a sun-like star. The newly discovered Kepler-452b is the smallest planet to date discovered orbiting in the habitable zone -- the area around a star where liquid water could pool on the surface of an orbiting planet -- of a G2-type star, like our sun. More: http://go.nasa.gov/1fp668W #NASABeyond | NASA - National Aeronautics and Space Administration

Kepler-452b, often called Earth’s “cousin,” is a fascinating exoplanet located 1,402 light-years away in the constellation Cygnus. Discovered by NASA’s Kepler Space Telescope in 2015, it orbits a star very similar to our Sun and sits in the habitable zone—where liquid water could exist. About 60% larger than Earth, with potentially five times the mass, Kepler-452b has a year lasting roughly 385 days. While we don’t yet know if it has water, an atmosphere, or life, this distant world reminds us h