Kepler-78b: First Earth-Sized Rocky Planet

10.30.13 – This illustration compares Earth with the newly confirmed scorched world of Kepler-78b. Kepler-78b is about 20 percent larger and is 70 percent more massive than Earth and whizzes around its host star every 8.5 hours, making it an inhospitable blazing inferno.

Read more about the discovery here: https://www.nasa.gov/kepler/scientists-discover-the-first-earth-size-rocky-planet.

Credit: David A. Aguilar (CfA)