The odd new worlds we’ve discovered in 2025

Astronomers have discovered more than 100 new extraterrestrial worlds so far this year – a lot light years far from the earth – which present the great diversity and the drama of planetary systems through space.

The number of confirmed exoplanets – planets that do not organize the sun – made a tip 5,900according to Nasawith thousands additional candidates under examination. All these worlds exist in our galaxy, although scientists think they have detected a planet Outside the Milky Way in 2021.

This premium is only a small sample of the planets supposed to exist throughout the universe. With Hundreds of billions of galaxiesThe cosmos probably sparkles with Several Billions Stars. And if most stars have one or more orbit planets – well, it is difficult to understand with our weak human brains. After all, our own solar system has eight full planets (apologies, Pluto) – and maybe even more Waiting for discovery.

There are not two similar exoplanets, each hosting their own chemistry and distinct conditions. Getting to know these worlds is now easier with the powerful James Webb space telescope. The observatory, a collaboration of NASA and its European and Canadian counterparts, spends about a quarter of its time on exoplanets. By studying their atmospheres, scientists can learn a lot, especially if a world could be habitable.

Webb is embarking on a Massive study of rocky worlds Apart from the solar system, specifically to know if exoplanets The red dwarf stars nearby could have air. The campaign, Reported for the first time by Mashablewill take a closer look at a dozen nearby exoplanets.

Astronomers have discovered a distant exoplanet with a tail that extends over 5.5 million miles long.
Credit: Jose-Luis Olivares / MIT Illustration

BD + 05 4868 AB

Astronomers have discovered a planet with a comet -shaped tail extending over more than 5.5 million miles. Rocky exoplanet, BD + 05 4868 ABOrbit a 140-light year star in the Pegasus constellation. A team of researchers led by the MIT detected the tail of this world, made of particles of the size of the sand, when it blocked part of the light of the star, causing uneven gradation during each pass.

BD + 05 4868 AB, found by the NASA Tess mission, is the size of the mercury and orbit its star every 30.5 hours. About 3,000 degrees Fahrenheit, the planet seems to lose equipment – about a value of Everest per orbit – which becomes its tail. Scientists plan to follow up with webb to study its composition.

Proxima b

Proxima bThe nearest earth size exoplanet, probably cannot support life, according to a new study. Although the world orbits in an ideal point of its stars system where liquid water may be possible to exist on its surface, scientists now believe that its star host – Proxima Centauri – is far too hostile.

The star, about four light years, explodes the planet with extreme spatial weather which would probably remove an atmosphere. Using 50 hours of observations with the Alma telescope in Chile, the researchers recorded 463 powerful stellar rockets.

Wasp-127b

Astronomers have spotted fierce winds whisking Wasp-127b – What they have never seen before. On the gas giant, a stream jet rushes around the equator of the planet at 20,500 MPH. It is almost 19 times faster than Neptune gusts, the strongest winds in the solar system.

Using the very large telescope of the South Observatory in Chile, scientists studied the planet’s atmosphere at 520 light years. They found signs of water vapor, carbon dioxide and changing temperatures in large regions.

K2-18B

The scientists who brought us the tenuous discovery of a potential world of water with signs of life last year have returned with new data which, according to them, strengthen their case. Exoplanet K2-18B – A so -called Cycean world because it can have an atmosphere rich in hydrogen on a world ocean – has a strong signal of dimethyl sulfide or a similar gas, the researchers said. On Earth, these chemicals are made by living beings such as microscopic algae.

However, the 124-years monitoring study study of the years has only increased controversy, causing many scientists not affiliated to the team to denounce themselves. Most of this frustration comes from how the team has communicated its conclusions to the public, suggesting that the group is perhaps closer to the discovery of life beyond the earth than it really is.

Scientists have found two young orbit gas giants around the Yeses-1 star, one with clouds of sand and another surrounded by space by moon material.
Credit: Illustration Ellis Bogat

Gaia-4B

The Gaia spacecraft of the European Space Agency had its first independent success by using the so-called “Oscillation” technique To find new worlds. The method is looking for subtle aggressions in the stars that can be caused by the severity of a planet that shoots them.

The giant planet, Gaia-4Bis 12 times heavier than Jupiter and 244-light years, orbit around a small star at only 64% the mass of the sun. The follow -up observations confirmed the discovery, marking an important step for the Gaia planet hunting mission.

Yeses-1b and Yeses-1c

Scientists used webb to capture rare direct images of two young exoplanets, Yeses-1b and Yeses-1cIn orbit around a star at more than 300 light years. YESS-1C shows dark clouds and silicate in ultra-fine rock grains, and YESS-1B presents a brilliant dust disc-perhaps only the third of its kind never observed-which can accommodate a moon nursery.

These gas giants, every five to 15 times the mass of Jupiter, orbit a young star similar to the sun, although extreme distances. The new infrared images gave a deep look in the first chaotic stages of the formation of the planet and the moon.