February 25, 2023
Scientists at NASA have discovered a possibly habitable planet in the planetary system. The earth-like world has been named TOI 700 e and is currently rocky terrain but does have the distances to potentially facilitate the occurrence of water. It orbits around the habitable zone of its own star and is found to be appropriately 95% the size of Earth.
This is the second earth-size world found, the first one located 31 light years away and discovered by 50 scientists and astronomers. Named Wolf 1069 b, the planet orbits around the Red Dwarf star but only receives daylight on one side, ruling out a day/night cycle like Earth.
Discoveries like these are vital in determining the possibility of inhabiting other planets in different systems.
Mars has historically been the best candidate for habitation, having water, a livable temperature variation with seasons and some semblance of an atmosphere to protect from radiation. Downsides include only 1% oxygen and approximately 38% of Earth's gravity.