An Earth-Sized Planet in the Habitable Zone

The first Earth-sized exoplanet orbiting within the habitable zone of another star has been confirmed by observations with both Gemini Observatory and the W. M. Keck Observatory. The initial discovery, made by NASA's Kepler Space Telescope, is one of a handful of smaller planets known (including four others in this system alone). This work, led by Elisa Quintana (SETI Institute and NASA Ames Research Center), confirms that Earth-sized planets do exist in the habitable zone of other stars. The observations from Gemini North utilized the visiting Differential Speckle Survey Instrument (DSSI) and allowed the team to rule out confusion by sources within four astronomical units of the parent star. A Gemini press release is posted, and the full paper is published in the current issue of the journal Science.