NASA Wednesday confirmed a bonanza of 715 newly discovered planets circling stars other than our sun. NASA'ss Kepler planet-hunting telescope nearly doubled the number of planets scientists have discovered in the galaxy. (NASA/Associated Press)
The Earth's galaxy is looking far more crowded. NASA has confirmed a bonanza of 715 newly discovered planets outside the solar system.
Scientists using the planet-hunting Kepler telescope have nearly doubled the number of planets discovered in the galaxy. The figure is now about 1,700. Twenty years ago, astronomers had not found any planets circling stars other than the sun.
- 'Fluffy' Earth-mass planet is lightest ever to be weighed
- 1st Earth-sized rocky planet found beyond solar system
Astronomers used a new confirmation technique to come up with the largest batch of planets announced at one time. NASA made the announcement Wednesday.
All the new planets are in systems like ours where multiple planets circle a star. Four of those new planets are in habitable zones where it is not too hot or not cold.
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