Has NASA Discovered Another Earth? Perhaps by USA Today, Adapted by Newsela Staff on 04.24.20 Word Count 602 Level 720L

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Has NASA discovered another Earth? Perhaps By USA Today, adapted by Newsela staff on 04.24.20 Word Count 602 Level 720L

Image 1. An illustration of Kepler-1649c orbiting around its host red dwarf star. This newly discovered exoplanet is in its star’s habitable zone and is the closest to Earth in size and temperature found yet in Kepler's data. Illustration: NASA/Ames Research Center/Daniel Rutter

Astronomers have found another planet. It's nearly the same size as Earth.

The new planet orbits around a large star, like our sun. A new study said the planet is located in that star's habitable zone. This is the not-too-hot and not-too-cold area near some stars. Because of the area's temperature, water could exist on a planet's surface there.

If it has water, it means the planet could have life.

This newly found world is called Kepler-1649c, according to the study that came out on April 15. It is named after the Kepler Space Telescope. Scientists needed that telescope to see the distant planet. The name follows in line with neighboring planets. One is called Kepler-1649b.

Could This Be Earth's Sibling Planet?

Kepler-1649c is 300 light-years away from Earth. A light-year is the distance traveled by light in one year. Light travels very fast, which means this planet is very far away.

This article is available at 5 reading levels at https://newsela.com. More than 2,000 exoplanets have been discovered using the Kepler Space Telescope. An exoplanet is a planet that is outside of our solar system. The sun is at the center of our solar system. The Earth and several other planets orbit the sun.

What's exciting is that out of all them, this planet is most similar to Earth. It is the most similar both in size and estimated temperature, NASA said. NASA is the U.S. space agency.

The new planet brings great hope, said Thomas Zurbuchen. He is a NASA scientist in Washington, D.C. Zurbuchen hopes "a second Earth lies among the stars, waiting to be found."

The New Planet Has its Own Sun Star

NASA said there are other exoplanets estimated to be closer to Earth in size. Other exoplanets might be closer to Earth in temperature. However, there is no other exoplanet that is closer to Earth in both size and temperature that lies in the habitable zone of its system.

Kepler-1649c is only 1.06 times larger than Earth. It also receives about the same amount of starlight from its host star. The host star is like the sun. It receives about 75 percent of the amount of light that Earth receives from the sun. This means the new planet's temperature could be similar to Earth's.

There is a difference, though. Kepler-1649c orbits a red dwarf. A red dwarf is a dim star. It cannot be seen from Earth. This type of star is cool in temperature but is known for heat flare-ups.

The heat might make it difficult for possible life to exist on any planet near the star. No red dwarves have been seen in the system around Kepler-1649c.

Scientists Keep Making Discoveries

Scientists discovered this planet when looking through old NASA data. They were done using the Kepler Space Telescope. The space agency stopped using the telescope in 2018.

NASA's Kepler mission ended in 2018 when the space telescope ran out of fuel. Yet scientists are still making discoveries based on the mission. They continue to examine the information Kepler sent back to Earth.

Andrew Vanderburg is a scientist at the University of Texas at Austin. He helped write the study about Kepler-1649c.

Vanderburg said they keep finding out about Earth-size exoplanets that are common around these red dwarves. Vanderburg said red dwarves are almost everywhere outside our solar system. The rocky exoplanets scientists now see around them might also have life just like Earth.

"The chance one of them isn't too different than our Earth looks a bit brighter," he said.

This article is available at 5 reading levels at https://newsela.com. Quiz

1 Select the sentence that summarizes the article.

(A) Red dwarves are common outside our solar system, so there could be many nearby exoplanets that might also have life just like Earth.

(B) Astronomers have discovered a planet nearly the same size as Earth that orbits in its star’s habitable zone, where water could support life.

(C) Kepler-1649c is a new planet that is 300 light-years away from Earth, and since light travels very fast that means this planet is very far away.

(D) The heat from flare-ups on red dwarves might make it difficult for possible life to exist, so scientists stopped looking near these types of stars.

2 Read the following paragraph from the section "Could This Be Earth's Sibling Planet?"

The new planet brings great hope, said Thomas Zurbuchen. He is a NASA scientist in Washington, D.C. Zurbuchen hopes "a second Earth lies among the stars, waiting to be found."

HOW does this paragraph support the main idea of the article?

(A) It shows that scientists are excited about finding Kepler-1649c.

(B) It explains the ways that Kepler-1649c is similar to Earth.

(D) It explains the ways that NASA plans to find new exoplanets.

3 Read the following selection from the section "The New Planet Has its Own Sun Star."

It also receives about the same amount of starlight from its host star. The host star is like the sun. It receives about 75 percent of the amount of light that Earth receives from the sun.

What does "host" refer to?

(A) the idea that people will one day live on stars

(B) the star that gives a planet its light and heat

(D) the planet that has the most stars close to it

4 Read the following paragraph from the section "Scientists Keep Making Discoveries."

Which phrase from the paragraph helps the reader to understand the meaning of "examine"?

(A) mission ended

(B) space telescope

(D) making discoveries

This article is available at 5 reading levels at https://newsela.com.