NASA's Kepler Mission has discovered the first near-Earth-size planet orbiting in the habitable zone of a star very similar to our Sun.

NASA的开普特太空望远镜发现了首颗与地球大小近似并绕一颗类似太阳的恒星运行的行星。该行星位于其恒星周围的适居地带。

Located about 1,400 light-years from Earth in the constellation of Cygnus, the newly discovered planet resides in the Kepler-452 system.

这颗最新被发现的星球距离地球大概1400光年远。它位于天鹅座中的开普勒－452系统。

The planet, called Kepler-452b, is about 60 percent larger than Earth.

这颗名为开普勒452-b的行星体积约比地球大60%。

While its mass and composition are not known, researchers believe that it is likely to be a rocky world.

尽管它的质量和成分仍然未知，研究者们相信这颗星球很有可能是一颗岩质行星。

The host star of Kepler-452b is the same "G" type as our Sun.

开普勒452-b的主星和太阳一样，是G级亮度的恒星。

It is 6 billion years old, 1.5 billion years older than our Sun and is 10 percent larger and 20 percent brighter.

它比太阳年老15亿年，足有60亿年之久的历史。它比太阳的体积大10%，亮度比太阳高20%。

Kepler-452b receives only 10 percent more energy from its star than the Earth does from the Sun.

与地球从太阳那里得到的能量相比，开普勒452-b从它的主星得到的能量只多出10%。

Since the Kepler mission was launched in 2009, it has identified 4,696 planet candidates, one thousand of which have been confirmed as planets.

自从2009年开普勒望远镜任务被发射以来，它已经鉴别了4696颗行星资格的候选星球。其中约一千颗被确认为行星。

Of those confirmed, 12 are near-Earth-size and in the habitable zone of their star.

这些被确认的行星中，有12颗与地球大小相似并且位于其恒星周围的适居地带上。

The mission has provided data that has helped to redefine our understanding of stars and planetary systems in our galaxy.

该飞行任务向人们提供了大量数据帮助人们重塑了对我们星系中恒星及行星系统的认知。

Researchers will use this data to continue to make discoveries for years to come.

研究者们将会利用这些数据在未来做出更多发现。