NASA space telescope finds Earth-size exoplanet that's 'not a bad place' to hunt for life

A red orb toward the top left of the screen and an Earth-looking world toward the bottom right.

Scientists using a NASA space telescope have discovered a tantalizing world. It's about the size of Earth, sits remarkably close to our solar system, and could be comfortable for life as we know it.

The extrasolar planet, or "exoplanet," named Gliese 12 b, orbits a small and cool red dwarf star located just around 40 light-years from Earth in the constellation Pisces. The exoplanet — which the team found with NASA's Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS) — is estimated to have a width around 1.1 times that of Earth, making it similar to our planet as well as Venus, which is often called our world's solar system "twin."