The artist's concept depicts Kepler-186f , the first validated Earth-size planet to orbit a distant star in the habitable zone—a range of distance from a star where liquid water might pool on the ...

Technicians working inside the Astrotech Space Operations facility near NASA's Kennedy Space Center look over the Kepler spacecraft soon after it arrived in Florida in preparation for launch. [Read ...

Kepler-186f is a rocky little world in the Goldilocks zone around its star. It's the fifth planet from its parent star, and yet it orbits at a distance comparable with Mercury's orbit around our sun.

When you buy through links on our articles, Future and its syndication partners may earn a commission. Artist’s concept of Kepler-186f, an Earth-size exoplanet orbiting a red dwarf star in the ...

An artist's conception of the Earth-sized exoplanet Kepler-186f, which orbits in the habitable zone of a distant solar system some 500 light-years away. Credit: NASA Ames / SETI Institute / ...