Astronomers have discovered two potentially habitable planets that orbit a star located close to the Sun. Exoplanets are only 16 light-years away, and their mass is comparable to the mass of the Earth, according to Space. com.

Planets are located in the " This means that they are in a region where the temperature is suitable for the existence of water in liquid form.. Since liquid water is essential to sustaining life, planets that are in the habitable zone of a star are considered by scientists as prime targets in the search for life in the universe..

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But just being in the habitable zone does not guarantee that life can exist on the planet.. So, in the solar system, Venus and Mars are in the habitable zone, but neither of these planets can support the existence of living organisms..

GJ 1002 is a fairly cool red dwarf, so its habitable zone is much narrower.. Two discovered planets orbit much closer to the star than the Earth to the Sun. The planet closest to the star, GJ 1002b, makes a revolution around it in 10 days, and the more distant one, GJ 1002c, in 21.

The planets' proximity to Earth means they could be great targets for astronomers looking to study the atmospheres of Earth-like planets outside our solar system..

Earlier, a team of astronomers led by Olga Zakhozhai from the Main Astronomical Observatory of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine discovered a giant exoplanet that revolves around the sun-like star HD 114082. The age of the planet is estimated at 15 million years, which makes this super-Jupiter the youngest exoplanet of its kind, for which it was possible to measure the radius and mass.