National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) scientists using the powerful Kepler telescope said Thursday that they have found a planet beyond the solar system that is a close match to Earth. The scientists told reporters that the planet, which is roughly 60 percent bigger than Earth, is located about 1,400 light years away in the constellation Cygnus. While similarly sized planets have been found before, the latest one, known as Kepler-452b, is circling a star that is very similar but older than the sun at a distance about the same as Earth's orbit. "It's great progress in finding a planet like Earth that is similar in size and temperature around a sun-like star," Jeff Coughlin, Kepler research scientist at the SETI Institute in California, told reporters on a conference call. Based on its size, scientists believe that Kepler-452b is rocky and Earth-like and positioned at the right distance for liquid surface water.
