Discover the mysterious planet

Astronomers have discovered Earth's "twin brother" in a star system about 200 light-years away.

The newly discovered planet KOI-314c has the same weight as Earth but is 60% larger than our planet. It revolves around a dwarf in a relatively close range, its surface temperature is about 104 degrees Celsius. This is too hot a temperature for most life forms on Earth.

Scientists identified the planet KOI-314c surrounded by layers of hydrogen and helium gas hundreds of kilometers thick. It is thought to be formed like the Neptune of the Solar System before part of its atmosphere is lost due to pressure from its parent star.

"The planet may be as heavy as Earth, but it is not exactly the same as Earth," said Dr. David Kipping, of the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics. 'It has no clear separation line between layers of rock like Earth.'

Simulation image of planet KOI-314c

The planet KOI-314c was discovered by accident when scientists analyzed data from the Kepler space telescope to find evidence of the Moon instead of new planets.

'We found clear signs that it was a planet in a stellar system and not a moon. First, we were disappointed that it was not the Moon, but then we found it to have very special points, 'said Dr. Kipping.