Washington: Scientists have discovered a planet, known as KOI-314c, which they claim is Earth's gassy twin in another solar system 200 light years away.
Scientists believe KOI-314c has a thick gaseous atmosphere as it weighs the same as the Earth but is 60% larger.
It orbits a dim red dwarf star at such a close distance that temperatures on its surface could be as high as 104°C - too hot for most forms of life on Earth.
KOI-314C is only 30 per cent more dense than water. This suggests that the world is enveloped by a blanket of hydrogen and helium hundreds of miles thick.
The findings were presented at the annual meeting of the American Astronomical Society in Washington DC.
This new discovery was made by chance as scientists scoured data from the Kepler space telescope looking for evidence of moons rather than planets.
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