Did you know that our Milky Way galaxy may contain up to 40 billion Earth-sized planets orbiting in the habitable zones of their stars? But only a handful of them …
Did you know that our Milky Way galaxy may contain up to 40 billion Earth-sized planets orbiting in the habitable zones of their stars? But only a handful of them are truly habitable. The most extreme candidates are Proxima Centauri b, which experiences dangerous flares from its red dwarf star, and TRAPPIST-1e, where tidal locking creates perpetual night on one side and day on the other. Slightly better: Kepler-186f, 10% larger than Earth and located at the edge of the habitable zone, and Kepler-452b, Earth's "cousin," which receives 10% more solar energy than Earth. The real gems are TOI 700 d, orbiting a quiet red dwarf, and Kepler-1649c, only 1.06% larger than Earth, receiving 75% of the Sun's irradiance. Both are in the perfect habitable zone. The most promising remains Teegarden's Star b, with an Earth similarity index of 0.95—the closest to Earth of all discovered planets. Which of these will be our next home?
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