Planet Earth - A NASA handout shows a large presence of stratocumulus clouds photographed by the Expedition 34 crew members aboard the International Space Station above the northwestern Pacific Ocean about 460 miles east of northern Honshu, Japan on Janua
Earth is the same size as KOI-314c, which has a thick gaseous atmosphere and a higher surface temperature Reuters

Scientists have discovered a new planet dubbed Earth's twin 200 light years away in another solar system.

KOI-314c weighs the same as Earth, yet is 60% larger and much hotter. Despite some enthusiastic astronomers saying it is the twin of Earth, it has an estimated surface temperature of approximately 104C and would be unable to support many of the lifeforms familiar to us.

Details of the planet were presented at the annual meeting of the American Astronomical Society.

Dr David Kipping, of the Harvard-Smithsonian Centre for Astrophysics, said that the planet is dramatically different to Earth - despite having a similar weight. It is thought to have a thick gaseous atmosphere.

"This planet might have the same mass as Earth, but it is certainly not Earth-like," he said.

"It proves that there is no clear dividing line between rocky worlds like Earth and fluffier planets like water worlds or gas giants."

KOI-314c was stumbled upon using the Kepler space telescope, while scientists explored for moons.

Kipping revealed: "When we noticed this planet showed transit timing variations, the signature was clearly due to the other planet in the system and not a moon.

"At first we were disappointed it wasn't a moon, but then we soon realised it was an extraordinary measurement."