For centuries, we have been dreaming of knowing about the civilization and cultures of other planets. Yes, there are a lot of planets in the universe. But as far as we know, only a few could support life. So really, what planets are habitable?

When a planet is habitable, it must be a world that has a better chance of handling life other than our home, the Earth. As you know, water is the basis of life. Therefore inhabited planets potentially have liquid water to support life.

Besides Earth, what other planets could be habitable? Before we get started, you must know that for a planet to qualify as life-friendly, it must be small and even rocky. Its orbit must be in the “habitable zone” of the star. It is defined as a location where water exists on the world’s surface.

Habitable Planets That You Should Know

1. Gliese 581g

If this planet does exist, then perhaps 20 light years away from the solar system. Can you imagine?

The Gliese 581g is likely 2-3 times as huge as the Earth. It energies around its parent star called the red dwarf Gliese 581, every thirty days.

Its orbit actually places the planet in the habitual zone of the star, which is just the right range of the distance where water, or even life, could exist.

More so, this planet has at least 4 or 5 planetary neighbors. Astronomers also spotted this planet to have another planet called 581f. It circles much farther away from a star. However, scientists remain arguing about its existence.

2. Proxima B

This planet was the first one detected by the HARVPS telescope in 2016. This is perhaps the closest alien exoplanet to our solar system. This planet is 4.2 light years away from Earth.

The question is, is it habitable? Well, a team of astronomers from Belgium, Spain, France, The UK and the United States have studied the prospects for this newly discovered planet and if the Proxima B is habitable.

And while it’s still under research, know that Proxima B is about 1.3 Earth-mass planet that is orbiting the star Proxima Centauri. Proxima b receives a significant amount of radiation than the Earth, and it just warms the planet. It will be crucial to assess if the planet can maintain water.

But despite all these, scientists believe that this planet could be habitable, and next-generation spacecraft could travel in search of life.

3. Kepler-438B

Perhaps deemed as one of the most earth-like and was first discovered in 2015 because of its Earth similarity index. This planet is located about 470 light years away and is known for having about 88% similarity to Earth.

It’s 12% larger than Earth and receives about 40% more light than Earth. Astronomers believe that Kepler-438B is within the “Goldilocks Zone”. It means that the distance of the planet from the star is on-point, which makes it not hot or cold for life to exist.

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4. Gliese 667CC

Did you know that this planet is Mars’s cousin? You can see all of the sun, and it’s actually a part of the 3-star system, which can be 23.6 light years away from us here on Earth. As to the size, the Gliese 667CC is 3.8 times the size of Earth. It also has a rocky surface and has about 85% similarity to Earth.

So, can we live on the Gliese 667CC planet? Well, given its appropriate atmosphere, it’s likely that Gliese 667CC can sustain life. The point is that scientists of Gliese 677CC are comfortable within the parent star’s habitable zone or perhaps the area that could support water around the star.

5. Mars 

Alright, you already knew this for sure. But to tell you the truth, we humans only have limited time and resources to find a suitable home planet that could be far away from us. That’s why it makes a lot of sense to look for other places next door. 

Mars, as many believed, could be the next home for humans and other living things. In fact, we may be able to see it happening in our lifetime. Truly, this red planet can be habitable due to its ancient water, the right amount of sunlight, and the same day length, which could be 40 minutes longer than Earth. 

6. Teegarden B 

It is an exoplanet with orbits like red dwarf stars about 12 light years away from the solar system. In fact, they call Teegarden B a more habitable planet than Earth. It has almost the same mass as the Earth, making it complete the circle around the star in like five days. So, if you do the math, a year in the Teegarden B could be less than a week on Earth.

And to know if it’s habitable? Since the Teegarden B planet has an ESI value of about 0.84, it can sustain life like Earth. Because any planet that comes with an ESI value of more than 0.8 may sustain life. It is tidally locked, yet the twilight stripe of the planet may be able to sustain life.

7. LHS 1140 B 

Like other planets, this planet is known to be very solid and rocky. Even if its size is only 40% larger than the Earth, it could be 7x massive and has a strong gravity of about 3.25 gs. This planet was actually detected using both the radical velocity method and transit photometry. As a result, the LHS 1140 b planet is one of the few potential planets that could sustain life.

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What Planets are Habitable – Wrapping Up!

All these seven planets mentioned, including those that are yet to be discovered, are proven to be in the habitable zone of the host stars. In theory, people on Earth can colonize them and even make these planets suitable for human life. Which planet do you find most impressive?