Earth-like exoplanets
Astronomers have found thousands of planets around other stars. A handful are roughly Earth-sized and orbit where liquid water could, in principle, exist on the surface. None has been confirmed as habitable — most are known only from their size, mass or orbit. Here are 15 of the best known, from our nearest neighbour Proxima b outwards, each with a guide and a 3D artist's impression you can land on.
- 4.24 light-years · Proxima Centauri
Proxima Centauri b
The nearest known exoplanet to the Sun
- 11 light-years · Ross 128
Ross 128 b
A temperate world around a quiet red dwarf
- 12.5 light-years · Teegarden's Star
Teegarden's Star b
A close-in world around a tiny, ancient red dwarf
- 23.6 light-years · Gliese 667 C
Gliese 667 Cc
A super-Earth in a triple-star system
- 40.5 light-years · TRAPPIST-1
TRAPPIST-1d
A small world on the warm edge of TRAPPIST-1's habitable zone
- 40.5 light-years · TRAPPIST-1
TRAPPIST-1e
The TRAPPIST-1 planet most often called potentially habitable
- 40.5 light-years · TRAPPIST-1
TRAPPIST-1f
An Earth-mass world in TRAPPIST-1's cooler habitable zone
- 40.5 light-years · TRAPPIST-1
TRAPPIST-1g
The largest TRAPPIST-1 planet, at the cold edge of the habitable zone
- 48.9 light-years · LHS 1140
LHS 1140 b
A dense super-Earth that might be a water world
- 101.4 light-years · TOI-700
TOI-700 d
TESS's first Earth-sized habitable-zone planet
- 580 light-years · Kepler-186
Kepler-186f
The first Earth-sized planet found in another star's habitable zone
- 635 light-years · Kepler-22
Kepler-22b
Kepler's first habitable-zone planet around a Sun-like star
- 980 light-years · Kepler-62
Kepler-62f
A cool super-Earth in a five-planet system
- 1,194 light-years · Kepler-442
Kepler-442b
A super-Earth in an orange dwarf's habitable zone
- 1,800 light-years · Kepler-452
Kepler-452b
A super-Earth candidate with a year longer than ours
The 3D globes and surfaces are artist's impressions generated from each planet's measured size, starlight and star type. No one has seen what these worlds actually look like.