Scientists May Have Found New Earth-Like Planet That 'Could Host Alien Life'

Scientists may have found extraterrestrial life in space after discovering a new star and planet that they say are the 'mirror image' of Earth and the Sun.

Researchers from the Max Planck Institute for Solar System Research in Göttingen say that the star and planet (Kepler-160 and KOI-456.04, respectively, if you want to call them by their full titles) are the most similar to our Sun-Earth system than any other they currently know about.

Although they are around 3,000 light-years away, it's thought they could potentially support human life.

The planet is about double the size of Earth, but according to the study, it orbits its star at a distance that could potentially allow life to exist.

NASA

Its sun is a red dwarf star that has a temperature of about 5,200 degrees, which is just 300 degrees less than ours.

Giving us further sci-fi vibes, the team also believes that it may have had about twice as much time as Earth to form and evolve.

Other planets have also been found orbiting the star, some of which are also believed to be potentially habitable - imagine living in a solar system where other nearby planets also have life. Mind = blown.

The other two planets have similarly catchy names - Kepler-160b and Kepler-160c.

Leader of the study, Dr René Heller, said: "Our improvement is particularly important in the search for small, Earth-sized planets.

"Our analysis suggests that Kepler-160 is orbited not by two but by a total of four planets."

NASA

Dr Heller continued: "KOI-456.01 is relatively large compared to many other planets that are considered potentially habitable.

"But it's the combination of this less-than-double the size of the Earth planet and its solar type host star that make it so special and familiar."

Scientists also believe KOI-456.04 could have surface water, like Earth.

Although the study does give hope in the search for other life in space, researchers have also pointed out that there's a possibility it could all have been an error in measurement as opposed to an actual planet.

Talk about false hope.

The reasearchers say that they're 85 percent sure that KOI-456.01 is a planet, but in order for it to be named a formal planet, it needs 99 percent certainty.

More research is being done, with the aim of it being given planet status.

Topics: Science, space

Amelia Ward

Amelia is a journalist at LADbible. After studying journalism at Liverpool John Moores and Salford Uni (don't ask), she went into PR and then the world of music. After a few years working on festivals and events, she went back to her roots. In her spare time, Amelia likes music, Liverpool FC, and spending good, quality time with her cat, Paul. You can contact Amelia at [email protected].

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