Far Out

New Habitable Planets Discovered

One of them is 'like a Hawaiian world.'

Does this mean we can start packing our bags? NASA astronomers have discovered two planets with ideal conditions for life—that is, they're just the right size and just the right distance from their star. Kepler-62e and Kepler-62f, fraternal twin planets discovered through NASA’s Kepler telescope, are the most likely candidates for habitable planets that scientists have discovered so far. Kepler-62e is likened to a warm Hawaiian world, and Kepler-62f is similar to Alaska's climate, according to the journal Science, where the discoveries were published Thursday. A third planet, which orbits the star Kepler-69, was also found in the habitable zone of its star. Only catch is the closest planet is 1,200 light-years away, meaning we're unlikely to phone home anytime soon.