earthXzone we report..you decide

The latest buzz in astronomy circles is over Kepler-186f, a planet that appears to be a dead-ringer for our own planet Earth. It’s almost exactly the same size as Earth and the same relative distance from the sun in the Kepler 186 solar system. It’s also the first-ever planet that is located within the “habitable zone.” This is big news for planet-watchers since it means that the surface of Kepler-186f could theoretically support liquid water rather than just ice or vapor. Best of all, Kepler-186f is only 500 light years away from Earth, making it practically a next-door neighbor if you compare it to something like the Andromeda
Galaxy (the Milky Way’s neighbor, located 2.5 million light years away from Earth).

If other planets within our galaxy are indeed inhabitable, it might just usher in the next great era of manned space exploration. In many ways, this new era of manned space exploration would be similar to the Age of Exploration centuries ago that led to the discovery of the New World and the creation of new trade routes around the globe. Hundreds of years ago, it seemed just as daunting to reach these new lands by crossing the world’s oceans in wooden ships. You can almost imagine explorers setting off with maps marked with cryptic phrases like “Here There Be Dragons” and hoping for the best. In short, explorers were uncertain whether they’d ever return.