Scientists may have just discovered Earth’s distant icy relative hundreds of millions of light years away.

HD 137010 b is one of thousands of exoplanets, or planets that orbit other stars, and may be the first Earth-like planet to orbit a sun-like star. First observed in 2017 with data from the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) and its Kepler Space Telescope, more details about HD 137010b emerged this year.

Unlike many exoplanets discovered so far, it is strikingly similar to Earth in its size and orbital pattern around its local star. The difference is their surface temperature. While Earth tends to average around 60 degrees Fahrenheit, or 15.5 degrees Celsius, HD 137010 is equivalent to -90 degrees Fahrenheit, or -68 degrees Celsius.

Researchers say that while exoplanets are valuable interstellar discoveries, HD 137010 could ultimately help answer some of humanity’s most profound questions. Jonathan Blazekassistant professor of physics at Northeastern University.

“Knowing that life exists, not just here on other planets, [also] “Around other stars, it’s going to be very important. We want to understand where we come from and whether we’re alone,” Blazek said.

According to NASA, scientists have discovered 6,107 exoplanets so far, most of them in a relatively small part of the Milky Way, the galaxy that includes Earth and our solar system. The closest known exoplanet to Earth is Proxima Centauri b, which is still nearly 4 light years away, about 23.5 trillion miles or 37.8 trillion kilometers away.

Why are these distant exoplanets important to Earthlings? It is clear that other forms of life may exist on other planets. While the possibility of discovering an alien civilization is tantalizing, Blazek said it’s more plausible for scientists to discover “biomarkers,” signatures of more fundamental forms of life.

The composition of the exoplanet’s atmosphere likely contains trace elements that indicate the presence of algae, rather than a sentient alien race, Blazek explained.

Exoplanets also help scientists better understand how the solar system formed and, by extension, how life formed on Earth.

“Looking at the solar system alone, it’s hard to say whether we’re special or lucky, or whether we’re actually more typical,” Blazek says.

Blazek said it’s still difficult to say what a typical exoplanet looks like. Most of the exoplanets discovered so far are so-called hot Jupiters, which are large planets that become extremely hot because they are close to their respective stars.

Historically, finding large exoplanets close to stars has been much easier, Blazek said. The so-called transit method, used to discover about 3,000 exoplanets, blocks light as they pass in front of their stars, making it easy for anyone with a telescope to identify such planets, according to the Planetary Society. Large exoplanets can even exert a slight gravitational pull on their star, changing the star’s speed enough for scientists to detect it.

But this type of exoplanet “is not consistent with life as we know it,” Blazek said, making HD 137010’s discovery even more interesting.

Unlike the hot Jupiters that astronomers are accustomed to finding, HD 137010 is slightly larger than Earth and has a similar orbital period of about a year. Exoplanets discovered so far have orbits ranging from a few hours to almost 1,000 years. Although the star is of a similar type to the Sun, it is much cooler and dimmer, so its temperature is much lower than that of Earth. But NASA says the exoplanet is located right on the edge of the star’s habitable zone, the region in a star’s orbit where planets may have liquid water and could support life.

It’s also relatively close in terms of galaxies. HD 137010 is approximately 146 million light-years from Earth. This is an excursion of only 858 quintillion miles, or 1.4 60 kilometers.

Despite being more than 36 times farther from Earth than Proxima Centauri b, “we’re in the same town, even if we’re not on the same block,” Blazek said.

Considering its size, orbit, and possible surface conditions, HD 137010 is likely an anomaly based on previously known exoplanets. But advances in telescope technology and data analysis could mark the beginning of a new era of exoplanet discovery.

“I don’t think this is the last Earth-like planet we’ll find soon,” Blazek said.