Newly Discovered Planet Most Earth-Like Ever, Could Harbor Alien Life

Meet Kepler 438b. It’s an alien world orbiting a distant star in the constellation of Lyra, and it’s likely the most Earth-like planet that humanity has discovered yet. It’s slightly larger than Earth and circles an orange dwarf star. The planet receives about 40% more heat from its star than we do from our sun.

The smaller size of 438b reveals that it’s likely a rocky world, and its proximity to the star puts it in the “Goldilocks,” or habitable zone. Not too hot, not too cold. Just right for liquid water to flow.

Kepler 438b is 470 light years away from us and completes an orbit around its star every 35 days, making its year about ten times shorter than ours. Small planets like 438b are more likely to be rocky ones than larger planets...