Astronomers from the Max Planck Institute for Astronomy have reported the discovery of a candidate exoplanet named 'HD 137010 b', which is notably Earth-like in characteristics such as size and orbital period. Located approximately 146 light-years away, this rocky planet has a radius 1.04 times that of Earth and a shorter orbital period of 355 days. Despite having only limited observational data available from a single charting in 2017, the potential of this planet encourages further study, particularly concerning the search for extraterrestrial life.

The discovery emphasizes the contribution of citizen scientists who played a pivotal role in analyzing the data of this exoplanet through the citizen science project 'Planet Hunters'. Traditional astronomical analyses typically require multiple observations for confirmation, but citizen volunteers were able to identify this candidate by meticulously sifting through the data. Their efforts highlight the value of community involvement in scientific research and the potential for groundbreaking discoveries to emerge from unconventional sources.

Importantly, ‘HD 137010 b’ resides within the 40% probability of being habitable, situated close to the so-called Goldilocks zone, which is the orbital region around a star where conditions are just right for liquid water to exist. While it orbits its host star, a K-type star (orange dwarf) cooler than our Sun, the energy it receives is assessed to be 56% of what Earth receives from the Sun, suggesting that the conditions may support the existence of life depending on further studies of this promising exoplanet.