Twitter
Advertisement

NASA's Kepler telescope finds 1,284 new planets, largest trove ever

A planet boon!

Latest News
article-main
Kepler discovers a planet boon
FacebookTwitterWhatsappLinkedin

The largest trove of planets outside our solar system -- 1,284 in all -- was announced on Tuesday, more than doubling the number of known exoplanets found with the Kepler space telescope, NASA said on Tuesday.

"This announcement more than doubles the number of confirmed planets from Kepler," said Ellen Stofan, chief scientist at NASA Headquarters in Washington.

"This gives us hope that somewhere out there, around a star much like ours, we can eventually discover another Earth."

The unmanned Kepler space observatory, which launched in 2009, has been scanning 150,000 stars for signs of orbiting bodies, particularly those that might be able to support life.

It works by observing a dimming in the light of star, known as a transit, each time an orbiting planet passes in front of it.

"Of the nearly 5,000 total planet candidates found to date, more than 3,200 now have been verified, and 2,325 of these were discovered by Kepler," NASA said in a statement.

Of the new trove of 1,284, nearly 550 could be rocky planets like Earth, based on their size, the US space agency said.

"Nine of these orbit in their sun's habitable zone, which is the distance from a star where orbiting planets can have surface temperatures that allow liquid water to pool." The addition of these nine means that 21 exoplanets now are known to be possibly circling their stars in the habitable zone, and possible sources for life. 

Find your daily dose of news & explainers in your WhatsApp. Stay updated, Stay informed-  Follow DNA on WhatsApp.
Advertisement

Live tv

Advertisement
Advertisement