Kepler-160 and KOI-456.04 – Twins of the Sun and Moon? - Astronomy News with The Cosmic Companion June 5, 2020

Astronomers know of several worlds that compare to Earth in certain respects, and stars like the Sun are fairly common. Now, the Max Planck Institute announces their finding of a super-Earth orbiting a familiar-looking star.

By James Maynard

Super-Earths in other solar systems could hold onto significant atmospheres and large oceans. Image credit: The Cosmic Companion / created in Universe Sandbox

Kepler-160, a Sun-like star 3,000 light years from Earth, is accompanied by at least a handful of planets, including one world that may look something like home. Roughly twice as large as Earth, but half as massive, the planet KOI-456.04 orbits its local star once every 378 days (just under two weeks longer than a year on Earth).

A newly-discovered planet, KOI-456.04, may be almost twice as large as Earth, but with half the mass, potentially allowing it to hold onto an extensive atmosphere. Located well in the Goldilocks Zone, where heat from the local star is neither too hot nor too cold for water, KOI-456.04 could be home to lakes, rivers, perhaps even oceans. This region, also known as the habitable zone, is where temperatures are more likely to be suitable to the development of life.

Read more: https://bit.ly/Another-Sun-Earth

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- James