25 Incredible Planets We Could Live On Someday

Discovered by scientists at the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics, this planet is 470 light-years away in the Lyra constellation. It has a dwarf star, is in the habitable zone, and has both a rocky surface and the potential for flowing water.

This planet is an Earth-sized exo-planet also in the Kepler system, but it’s much larger than Earth, measuring 1.75 times larger. It’s also a terrestrial planet in the habitable zone.

About 1,200 light-years from Earth, this planet is a potential water world with a cloudy sky and humid climate. It orbits its star every 122 days and is about 1.6 times the size of Earth. While there may be life on the planet, it might prove difficult for our own civilization to live there.

Located in the Grus constellation, this planet might have Earth-like temperatures with large seasonal shifts. It’s thought it could either harbor life or have an atmosphere too hot like Venus. In which case, it wouldn’t work out for us.

Orbiting its host star EPIC 201367065, this planet is 147 light-years away and 1.5 times the size of Earth. In contrast to Earth, K2-3d orbits close to its star but the temperature of the star and distance of the orbit still puts the planet in the habitable zone.

First discovered in 2014, this planet is located roughly 1,741 light years away from Earth. It’s in the habitable zone and also orbits its star for 92.7 days.

A newly discovered planet, first announced in 2016, Kepler-1544b is 1,138 light-years away. It orbits around its star every 168.8 days. While it’s in the habitable zone, it’s just scratching the surface.

This planet is 38 light years from our solar system and, of course, is also in the habitable zone. It’s considered a super-Earth, measuring about 6.4 times larger than our planet.

Orbiting around an orange dwarf star, this planet takes about 101 days to revolve around it. While it’s in the habitable zone, some believe it’s likely a gaseous planet. Of course, if that’s the case, then it wouldn’t exactly work for us to live there. But who knows? Maybe it’ll turn out to be rocky?

This planet orbits a star very much like our own sun, but it’s also 60 percent wider than Earth. While it’s not identical to Earth, there is a likelihood water could exist on the planet, and it’s thought to be more Earth-like than many other exo-planets.

A recent find, LHS 1140 b orbits its red dwarf star every 25 days. It’s also a Super-Earth with 8.5 times Earth’s mass. It could also prove a long-lasting planet as red dwarf stars can live for trillions of years, and while red dwarfs can be temperamental, this one seems to be the exception to the rule.

Around 40 light-years away in the constellation Aquarius, this planet is about 10 percent larger than Earth and is likely tidal locked, where the planet continuously faces its star, Trappist-1. If you were to stand on this planet, you’d likely see many other planets close up, as we’ll soon discover.

Like its sister planets, this planet is 40 light years away and orbits the star TRAPPIST-1, an ultra-cool dwarf star. It’s very close to many other habitable planets near this star and would also be tidal locked. Tidal locked planets have a terminator line where one side would be perpetually icy while the other would have flowing water.

Also in the TRAPPIST-1 system, this planet is unique in its similarities to Earth in radius, mass, and the amount of radiation it receives from the star. It could also have a rocky interior as well as exterior, making it even more similar to our planet.

One of the smallest and lightest of the TRAPPIST-1 planets, TRAPPIST-1d is habitable but how much so is questionable. Scientists aren’t sure how thick the atmosphere is or if it has an ocean or layer of ice. There’s concern it might also have volatile substances.

Scientists believe Luyten b is both habitable and could have potential life on it. In fact, scientists are so convinced of potential life on the planet, they have been sending messages to communicate with aliens. The planet is 12.4 light-years away and three times the size of Earth.

Kepler-186f takes the prize for being the first validated habitable and Earth-sized planet of a distant star. 500 light-years away, it’s known to be less than ten percent larger than Earth, although its mass is not known. Orbiting its star every 130 days, it’s roughly within the habitable zone.

Located 1,200 light-years away in the constellation Lyra, this super-Earth planet orbits its star every 267 days and is most certainly habitable. It’s also 40 percent larger than our planet, so there’s plenty of space to roam around.

Roughly 770 light-years away, this recently discovered planet is located in the constellation Cygnus. It’s a rocky planet orbiting a red dwarf star with a mass and radius much larger than Earth.

Just 14 light-years away, Wolf 1061c is one of the closest habitable planets to us. It’s in the Ophiucus constellation and orbits a red dwarf star every 18 days. But, it’s not very similar to Earth, being tidal locked and having a greater mass and size.

While this planet is estimated to be 60 percent larger than Earth, it and the star it orbits are very similar to our own. It orbits its star every 385 days and has the same temperature as ours, sitting right on the edge of the habitable zone.

This planet is potentially more habitable than our own. According to a paper published in Astrophysical Journal that compiled data to measure habitability, Earth’s habitability rating is 0.829, while Kepler-442b is 0.836. Unfortunately, this planet is 1,100 light years away, so unless we make super fast spaceships, we’re not getting there anytime soon.

Discovered in 2009, this planet is 23 light-years from Earth. While it’s habitable, it’s very different from our own planet. It has much greater gravity than Earth and the light from its red dwarf star is dimmer, making the planet far darker than our own.

Only four light-years away, Proxima Centauri b is 1.3 times the mass of Earth and is within the habitable zone. The surface would be a chilly -40 C and its red dwarf star could prove to be unstable, causing too much radiation for humans to handle. But with technology, it’s still a likely candidate for making a new home.

Mars is the closest semi-habitable planet to Earth. In fact, NASA is currently working to find ways to make it more habitable in the future, including sending out an artificial magnetic field to help bring back its atmosphere. With the right technology, Mars could easily become humanity’s new home.