![\"William](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/94cc74afb139f3706e0fde097ce8078838e8992f31b087e8f567cb93a1b2181e.png\")
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January 29, 2026 \u2014 8:19pm<\/p>\n
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Remove items from your saved list<\/a> to add more.<\/p>\n Save this article for later<\/p>\n Add articles to your saved list and come back to them anytime.<\/p>\n Got it<\/p>\n AAA<\/p>\n It\u2019d take several million years to get there, but a planet that could potentially support life has been discovered by scientists in Queensland.<\/p>\n The celestial body \u2013 named HD 137010 b \u2013 is about 150 light years away, and just slightly larger than Earth.<\/p>\n It would take about 3 million years to reach with current rocket technology, and the distance means scientists are viewing it as it was during the 19th century.<\/p>\n University of Southern Queensland PhD student Alexander Venner first discovered clues the planet could exist with a citizen science group while still in high school almost a decade ago, and chose to reexamine the data with a research team in a study published in January.<\/p>\n \u201cBased on current physics obviously we can\u2019t easily travel 150 years within our lifetime, but I think it\u2019s inspirational to know what type of worlds are out there and we also just want to understand how life could be developed in the universe,\u201d Dr Chelsea Huang, a co-author of the study, said.<\/p>\n \u201cI think that sometimes helps us learn more about the context of our Earth and solar system.\u201d<\/p>\n It was identified using 2017 data from NASA\u2019s extended Kepler mission, K2, leaving the faintest trace as it passed in front of its star.<\/p>\n It\u2019s still officially a \u201ccandidate planet\u201d according to NASA, with more sighting required to prove its existence, but Huang said the team was confident.<\/p>\n Estimates suggest the surface temperature could be below -70 degrees Celsius, but if it has a thicker atmosphere and more greenhouse gases than Earth then liquid water would be possible.<\/p>\n Huang said it was still one of the closest Earth-like planets orbiting a star similar to our Sun, making it a perfect candidate for future research.<\/p>\n \u201cThere are some ambitious space missions that are planned for the next decade and they\u2019re aiming to image a planet around Sun-like stars. We believe we will be able to study the atmosphere of this planet.<\/p>\n \u201cIn fact, this is currently the best candidate for such study, and all the astronomy field is working very hard towards that goal.\u201d<\/p>\n The research team included scientists from Australia, the UK, the USA and Denmark.<\/p>\n Start the day with a summary of the day\u2019s most important and interesting stories, analysis and insights. Sign up for our Morning Edition newsletter<\/a>.<\/p>\n Save<\/p>\n You have reached your maximum number of saved items.<\/p>\n![\"Planet](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/8c262d7ff62a80d37471b6bed5aded8ab79f0349fc484b86ca593a207f4664dc.jpeg\")
Planet HD 137010 b, discovered by researchers at UniSQ.NASA<\/p>\n![\"Dr](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/8a6932073cd860643663ec4295a99c4010e8e95499262843332f382d6e23ad80.jpeg\")
Dr Chelsea Huang from UniSQ. UniSQ<\/p>\n