Scientists at NASA have discovered a new Earth-sized planet orbiting the habitable zone of its star.
Data from NASA’s Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS) revealed the planet, called TOI 700 e, is within the habitable range of distances where liquid water could occur on the planet’s surface.
The world is 95% Earth’s size and likely rocky, NASA said in a press release.
“Finding other systems with Earth-size worlds in this region helps planetary scientists learn more about the history of our own solar system,” the press release states.
Footage in the media player above shows a visualization of the newly discovered world. Video has been provided by NASA/JPL-Caltech/Robert Hurt/NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center via Storyful.
According to NASA, TOI 700 e takes 28 days to orbit its star and is thought to be tidally locked, which means it only spins once per orbit so that one side is always facing its star.
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