As of this writing, NASA has established the existence of more than 5,000 planets outside our solar system. The most recent entry of 65 exoplanets to the NASA Exoplanet Archive contributes to the scientific milestone celebrated on Monday, according to the agency. In this database, you will find exoplanet findings that have been verified by numerous ways of detecting the planets and that have been published in peer-reviewed scientific studies.
We are now seeing a renaissance in the finding of exoplanets. These worlds were found in the 1990s, despite the fact that the possibility of planets beyond our solar system had previously been suggested and clearly represented in science fiction works. The variety of exoplanets represents a population of worlds unlike any other discovered in our solar system, and thus represents a new frontier in science. In addition to the Earth-sized rocky worlds that are referred to as super-Earths, mini-Neptunes, which are slightly larger than Earth but smaller than Neptune, as well as scorching-hot Jupiters, and there are other worlds that have been discovered.
Researchers have also discovered planets that circle more than one star, as well as planets that circle white dwarf stars, which are the remains of dead stars.
The contribution of telescopes
New telescopes will only improve the likelihood of discovering exoplanets in the future. The James Webb Space Telescope, which was launched in December, will have the capability of peering into the atmospheres of exoplanets, according to NASA.
The TRAPPIST system will be studied in great detail by the Webb Space Telescope.
In 2027, the Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope will be sent into orbit, and it will help in the hunt for exoplanets by using a range of different approaches. The ARIEL mission of the European Space Agency, scheduled to launch in 2029, will explore the atmospheres of exoplanets.
Despite the fact that researchers have proven the existence of more than 5,000 exoplanets, it is believed that there are hundreds of billions of them throughout the Milky Way galaxy.
