Pafos Press 30 January 2026
Astronomers have announced the discovery of a new potentially habitable exoplanet about 146 light-years from Earth.
The planet, named HD 137010 b, orbits a star similar to the Sun and is slightly larger than Earth — about 6%.
The discovery was made by a research team of scientists from Australia, the United Kingdom, the United States and Denmark, based on data recorded in 2017 by NASA's Kepler space telescope mission.
As explained by Dr. Chelsea Huang, a researcher at the University of Southern Queensland in Australia, HD 137010 b completes a full orbit around its star in about 355 days, i.e. in a time period similar to that of the Earth around the Sun.
Scientists estimate that the planet has about a 50% chance of being in its star's habitable zone — the region where conditions could theoretically support water.
Dr. Huang, who also participated in the study published in the Astrophysical Journal Letters, emphasized that the planet is relatively close to our solar system, only about 150 light-years away.
For comparison, the closest planet of a similar type known to date around a Sun-like star, Kepler-186f, is about four times farther away and 20 times fainter.
Despite the excitement of the discovery, there are less encouraging parameters.
The star of HD 137010 b is cooler and less luminous than the Sun, which leads scientists to conclude that the temperature on the planet's surface is likely similar to that of Mars and may fall below -70 degrees Celsius.
Experts point out that further observations and analysis are needed to confirm that HD 137010 b could potentially be habitable.
