Planets Large and Small Populate Our Galaxy (Infographic)

by Karl Tate, SPACE.com Contributor

Date: 05 December 2011 Time: 05:03 PM ET

Astronomers searching for another Earth are getting closer, thanks to recent discoveries by the Kepler space telescope.

Astronomers have discovered more than 700 alien planets beyond the solar system, and the count is rising all the time. Some are large and hot, and others are smaller and cooler, but scientists are still on the lookout for an Earth twin.

They just got closer, with the announcement Dec. 5 of a planet found by NASA's Kepler space telescope to lie in the habitable zone around its star where liquid water, and perhaps life, could exist.

Gallery: The Strangest Alien Planets

How Planets in Alien Solar Systems Stack Up (Infographic)

Kepler Reveals Lots of Planets: Some Habitable?

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