Yes kiddies! You heard that right! NASA has discovered a planet that is the right temperature, the right location in its solar system, and possibly has the right amount of water to sustain life.  I want to say “how cool is that!?!?” but I won’t do that to you this time…oh, wait… This Super-Earth sized planet is the first “confirmed” find of its kind in a habitable zone outside of our solar system.

Confirmation means that astronomers have seen it crossing in front of its star three times. But it doesn't mean that astronomers know whether life actually exists there, simply that the conditions are right.

Such planets have the right distance from their star to support water, plus a suitable temperature and atmosphere to support life.

"We have now got good planet confirmation with Kepler-22b," said Bill Borucki, Kepler principal investigator at NASA Ames Research Center.

"We are certain that it is in the habitable zone and if it has a surface, it ought to have a nice temperature," he told reporters.

Spinning around its star some 600 light years away, Kepler-22b is 2.4 times the size of the Earth, putting it in class known as "super-Earths," and orbits its Sun-like star every 290 days.

Its near-surface temperature is presumed to be about 72 degrees Fahrenheit (22 Celsius). Scientists do not know, however, whether the planet is rocky, gaseous or liquid.

Check out this video of Corey Powell (Editor-In-Chief of Discover Magazine), describing the planet and the methods of discovery. Just try your hardest to ignore the snarky news correspondent…ughh. Don’t let him ruin this super awesome bit of news…and it IS super awesome!

So, who do you think it’s going to turn out to be? The Vulcans? The Klingons? I vote for Andorians…and not just because the artist’s rendition of Kepler-22b is blue, but because if you’re going to have an ally, Shran is just about perfect.

(source Yahoo News)