The US space agency NASA has discovered a new planet about 146 light-years from Earth that is very similar to Earth.

The planet, named HD137010 b, may be located on the outer edge of its star’s ‘habitable zone’. This means that liquid water could exist on its surface and could also have an environment suitable for life.

NASA said that a star like our sun (HD 137010) is cooler and dimmer than our sun. This means that the planet’s surface temperature (-68°C) cannot exceed -90°F. In comparison, the average surface temperature of Mars is about -85°F (-65°C).

NASA scientists discovered this rocky exoplanet using data obtained from the Kepler space telescope.

The discovery was made during a single ‘transit’ (when the planet passed in front of its star) that occurred during Kepler’s second mission, K2.