Kepler-442b[1][4][5] (also known by its Kepler object of interest designation KOI-4742.01) is a confirmed near-Earth-sized exoplanet, likely rocky, orbiting within the habitable zone of the K-type main-sequence star[6] Kepler-442, about 1,196 light-years (367 pc) from Earth in the constellation of Lyra.

It is one of the more promising candidates for potential habitability, as its parent star is at least 40% less massive than the Sun – thus, it can have a lifespan of about 30 billion years.

[5] Kepler-442b is a super-Earth, an exoplanet with a mass and radius bigger than Earth's but smaller than the ice giants Uranus and Neptune.

[14] Because of their high stellar activity at the beginning of their lives, they emit strong solar winds.

Kepler-442b's axial tilt (obliquity) is likely tiny, in which case it would not have tilt-induced seasons as Earth and Mars do.

Its orbit is probably close to circular (eccentricity 0.04), so it will also lack eccentricity-induced seasonal changes like Mars.

[18] In 2009, NASA's Kepler spacecraft was completing observing stars on its photometer, the instrument it uses to detect transit events when a planet crosses in front of and dims its host star for a brief and roughly regular period.

[1] Kepler-442b, located approximately 370 parsecs (1,200 light-years) away, presents a challenge for current telescopes and even the upcoming generation of planned ones to ascertain its mass or the presence of an atmosphere due to the considerable distance from its host star.

However, upcoming planet-hunting space telescopes like TESS and CHEOPS are poised to survey nearby stars across the entire celestial sphere, potentially shedding light on the properties of distant exoplanets like Kepler-442b.

Additionally, the Square Kilometer Array would significantly improve radio observations over the Arecibo Observatory and Green Bank Telescope.