An artistic illustration compares Earth (L) to a planet beyond the solar system that is a close match to Earth, called Kepler-452b in this NASA image released on July 23, 2015. The planet, which is about 60 percent bigger than Earth, is located about 1,400 light years away in the constellation Cygnus, the scientists told a news conference on Thursday. (Photo/Agencies)
For thousands of years, human beings have dreamed about living on another Earth. With the discovery of "Earth 2.0," we are one step closer to that dream.
The newly discovered Kepler-452b is the first near-Earth-sized planet circling around a sun-like star, with the possible existence of a solid surface, water and even life forms.
Imagine living on Kepler-452b, what would life be like?
Q: How can we reach the planet?
A: Unfortunately, it is impossible for us to fly there based on current technologies, since Kepler-452b is 1,400 light years away from us, which means it takes 1,400 years to reach the planet at the speed of light.
But, we can always hope to gain hyperspeed by traveling through a wormhole or by using a warp drive engine like in science fiction novels or films.
Q: Once we land on Kepler-452b, what would we notice immediately?
A: You would feel as if your weight had doubled instantly. A person weighing 70 kg would feel like carrying a 70 kg sandbag all the time, which is quite challenging. This is because Kepler-452b's gravity is about twice as strong as Earth's.
Q: So the planet is not fit for human habitation?
A: Not necessarily. Doubled gravity is not entirely unbearable for human beings. After all, many occupations on Earth involve carrying heavy loads, such as fire fighters.
Living on Kepler-452b, we will grow stronger, with higher gravity serving as extra physical exercise every day. Some researchers predict that humans would evolve into a physically stronger species after living on the planet for tens, even hundreds, of generations.
Q: Is the environment hospitable on Kepler-452b?
A: Maybe for now. But some speculate that a runaway greenhouse effect would occur, with soaring temperatures, turning the planet into a hostile environment for living things, just like what happened on Venus.
The effect would make it awfully hard for oceans to stay on the planet's surface even if they existed. However, this would not occur for at least 500 million years, according to current analysis.
