Kepler 22-b: Astronomers Discover Earth-Like Planet In 'Habitable' Zone - (PHOTOS), (VIDEO)

Astronomers Discover Earth-Like Planet In 'Habitable' Zone

Scientists have discovered an Earth-like planet located in the "goldilocks" or "Habitable" zone, suitable for life.

Kepler 22-b, located 600 light years from earth, is more than twice the size of out own planet with an average temperature of 22C.

The news was announced by a team of astronomers on Monday, however the discoverers do not yet know if the planet is made of rock, gas or liquid.

"This is a major milestone on the road to finding Earth's twin," said Douglas Hudgins, who works on the Kepler program at Nasa.

"Kepler's results continue to demonstrate the importance of NASA's science missions, which aim to answer some of the biggest questions about our place in the universe."

The Kepler team located the planet by looking for dips in the brightness of more than 150,000 stars, searching for changes in brightness as the planet moves in front of the star.

"Fortune smiled upon us with the detection of this planet," said William Borucki, one of the principal investigators at Nasa's Ames Research Center.

"The first transit was captured just three days after we declared the spacecraft operationally ready. We witnessed the defining third transit over the 2010 holiday season."

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