45 Places Most Likely to Find Alien Life

March 19, 2026, astronomers from the Carl Sagan Institute at Cornell University identified the top 45 rocky exoplanets most likely to support extraterrestrial life. This list narrows the search dramatically, inspired by scenarios like the "Project Hail Mary" spacecraft mission.

1.  GJ 1002 b   Earth-sized rocky planet orbiting a nearby red dwarf star

2. GJ 1002 c  Slightly larger rocky world around the same red dwarf

3. GJ 1061 c   Super-Earth rocky candidate, orbits red dwarf in conservative habitable zone.

4. GJ 1061 d  super-Earth in the system, receives Earth-like starlight, strong biosignature target.

5. GJ 251 c  Rocky super-Earth around red dwarf, moderate distance; sits in habitable zone for possible water.

6. GJ 273 b (Luyten b)  Super-Earth; orbits red dwarf in habitable zone, one of the closer promising worlds.

7. GJ 3323 b  Small rocky planet around nearby red dwarf

8. GJ 667 C c  Super-Earth in triple-star system

9. GJ 667 C e  Another super-Earth in same system

10. GJ 667 C f  Third habitable zone planet in GJ 667 C system

11.  GJ 682 b  Super-Earth orbiting red dwarf

12. K2-239 d  Small rocky world discovered by K2 mission

13.  K2-288 B b  Super-Earth in binary system

14.  K2-3 d  Rocky super-Earth ~147 light-years

15. K2-72 e  Small rocky planet in multi-planet system

16. Kepler-1229 b  Earth-sized candidate from Kepler

17.  Kepler-1410 b  Rocky super-Earth

18.  Kepler-1544 b  Near Earth-like insolation; rocky world in habitable zone of its star.

19. Kepler-1606 b  Super-Earth in habitable zone; Kepler-detected with possible rocky composition.

20. Kepler-1649 c  Earth-sized rocky planet; rediscovered in habitable zone, very Earth-like temperature.

21. Kepler-1652 b  Super-Earth with Earth-similar starlight; strong habitable zone candidate.

22. Kepler-186 f  First Earth-sized planet in habitable zone; ~500 light-years, rocky with potential oceans.

23. Kepler-296 e  Super-Earth in habitable zone; part of multi-planet red dwarf system.

24. Kepler-296 f  Outer habitable zone planet in same system; possible colder but watery world.

25. Kepler-441 b  Rocky super-Earth; deep in habitable zone around red dwarf.

26. Kepler-442 b  One of the most Earth-like; receives similar energy to Earth, high habitability score.

27. Kepler-452 b  Super-Earth nicknamed "Earth's cousin"; orbits Sun-like star in habitable zone.

28. Kepler-62 e  Rocky world in habitable zone; part of five-planet system around cooler star.

29. Kepler-62 f  Outer habitable zone planet in system; potential for icy or watery surface.

30.  L 98-59 f  Small rocky planet; in habitable zone of nearby red dwarf system.

31. LHS 1140 b  Dense super-Earth ~40 light-years; habitable zone with thick atmosphere potential.

32. LP 890-9 c  Rocky world in habitable zone; transiting red dwarf for study.

33. Proxima Centauri b  Closest known exoplanet (~4.2 light-years); rocky Earth-mass in habitable zone of our nearest star.

34. Ross 508 b  Super-Earth ~36 light-years; orbits red dwarf in habitable zone.

35. TOI-1266 d  Small rocky candidate; in habitable zone, TESS-detected.

36. TOI-700 d  Earth-sized rocky planet, in habitable zone of quiet red dwarf.

37. TOI-700 e  Another Earth-sized in same system; inner habitable zone, transiting for atmosphere checks.

38. TOI-715 b  Super-Earth with Earth-like insolation; strong candidate in red dwarf habitable zone.

39. TRAPPIST-1 d  Earth-sized rocky world, inner edge of habitable zone in famous multi-planet system.

40.  TRAPPIST-1 e  Top candidate in TRAPPIST-1; rocky with potential oceans, receives Earth-like energy.

41. TRAPPIST-1 f  Rocky super-Earth in system; outer habitable zone, possible water world.

42. TRAPPIST-1 g  Farthest in habitable zone of TRAPPIST-1; larger rocky planet with ice potential.

43. Teegarden's Star c  Earth-mass rocky planet, in conservative habitable zone of very cool red dwarf.

44. Wolf 1061 c  Super-Earth ~14 light-years; in habitable zone, rocky with possible atmosphere.

45. Wolf 1069 b  Earth-mass rocky world; tidally locked but in habitable zone with potential day-side water

This 2026 breakthrough gives humanity its clearest roadmap yet to finding alien life—future telescopes like JWST could soon reveal biosignatures on these distant worlds!