Astronomers have discovered a potentially habitable Earth-sized exoplanet orbiting a Sun-like star just 150 light-years from our solar system. The candidate planet, HD 137010 b, orbits a K-type orange dwarf star and completes its journey in approximately 355 Earth days, making it remarkably similar to our own world in size and orbital period.

What makes this discovery particularly exciting is the planet's proximity to Earth compared to other potentially habitable worlds. While Kepler-186f, the next best candidate around a sun-like star, sits four times farther away and is 20 times fainter, HD 137010 b offers a much closer target for detailed study. The planet was detected through data from the NASA Kepler space telescope, which captured a single transit event causing a detectable dip in the star's light.

However, significant questions remain about the planet's habitability. Orbiting a cooler orange dwarf star, HD 137010 b receives less than a third of the light and heat Earth does, with estimated temperatures plunging below minus 90 degrees Fahrenheit. Scientists debate whether planets orbiting smaller stars can support life, particularly given the risk of tidal locking. Follow-up observations are needed to confirm the detection and determine if the planet could maintain a thick carbon dioxide atmosphere capable of trapping heat, potentially creating a temperate environment despite its frigid conditions.