My astronomy report is on the recent discovery of an earth-sized planet in the habitable zone of a star, this planet is called Kepler-186f. This is an incredible find and its the first of its kind. Since it is in the habitable zone, water could exist on the planet, meaning life could possibly exist on this planet. Although there is still much to learn about this planet, the initial findings are quite exciting. In my report I will give an explanation of the habitable zone, compare Kepler-186f to earth, tell what information we would need to gain a better understanding of the chance of life on the planet, and discuss some of the interesting speculation that has been made based on the information we have now. First, an explanation of the habitable zone. A habitable zone refers to the area away from a star (depending on the stars size/temperature) where life could potentially exist on a similar-to-earth sized planet. It needs to be similar to earth because if its too big it could become a gas giant, where life cannot exist due to harsh atmospheres and surface conditions (Miriam). And if it is too small the planet could be controlled by non-gravitational forces. In Kepler-186fs case, it lies at the very edge habitable zone so it is not the most optimal distance from the star it orbits, but life could very much still exist on the planet because it is slightly larger than earth, meaning that the atmosphere could be larger as well. It would retain more heat that way and increase the possibility of life on the planet. Kepler-186f is very similar to earth in size, it is only 10% larger than earth (Miriam). Although the planetssurface conditions are still a mystery to us here on earth, scientists speculate that it is likely a rocky planet like earth (Miriam). Kepler-186f lies much closer to its star compared to the distance earth is at from the sun. The star that Kepler-186f orbits, Kepler-186, is much smaller than our sun so the habitable zone