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NASA Telescope Finds Largest 'Tatooine' Planet To Date

SAN DIEGO (AP) - Astronomers say they have discovered the largest planet outside the solar system that orbits two suns.

The newfound world, about the size of Jupiter, is 3,700 light-years from Earth. A light-year is nearly 6 trillion miles.

It was detected by a team led by NASA and San Diego State University using the planet-hunting Kepler telescope. The discovery was announced Monday during a meeting of the American Astronomical Society in San Diego.

Although the planet is in the habitable zone - where water that is crucial to life can be liquid - it's not a good candidate to support life because it's so big, scientists said.

"It's a bit curious that this biggest planet took so long to confirm since it is easier to find big planets than small ones," San Diego State astronomer Jerome Orosz said in a statement.

Planets that circle a pair of suns are nicknamed "Tatooine" after the fictional body in the "Star Wars" films that boasts a double sunset.

In 2011, scientists found the first Tatooine planet - a world about the size of Saturn 200 light-years from Earth.

NASA launched Kepler in 2009 to search for planets - mainly Earth-like planets - outside the solar system.

Copyright 2016 The Associated Press.

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