Astronomers Have Found 6,000 Planets Outside the Solar System
The number of Planets confirmed outside our solar system – known as exoplanets – have increased to 6,000, NASA said. There is a wide variety in these distant worlds, says the space agency, with discoveries such as rocky planets, lava worlds and gas giants wrapped their stars.
Many other discoveries are probably on the way. Following the continuous surveillance of the exoplanet science institute (NEXCI) of NASA, more than 8,000 potential planets were identified and expect confirmation. With the future missions she has planned, including the Roman space telescope of Nancy Grace and the observatory of habitable worlds, the American space agency hopes to discover more planets and world -shaped worlds with possible signs of life.
This important stage of 6,000 plans comes 30 years after the discovery of the first exoplanet in orbit in orbit a star similar to our sun. “This step represents decades of cosmic exploration motivated by the space telescopes of NASA – an exploration which has completely changed the way in which humanity considers the night sky,” said Shawn Domal -Goldman, interim director of the astrophysical division at the NASA seat, in a press release. “Step by step, from discovery to characterization, NASA’s missions built the foundation to answer a fundamental question: are we alone?”
As the number of confirmed exoplanets has increased, the scientific community was able to build an image of the population of the planet through the universe. Researchers believe that rocky planets seem to be the most common in the universe. They also discovered planets of the size of Jupiter this orbit closer to their star that Mercury does not make our sun, or the planets that have two stars. Some discovered worlds are covered with lava; Others are surrounded by precious stones clouds.
“Each of the different types of planets that we discover gives us information on the conditions under which the planets can form and, in the end, how common planets could be common and where we should look for them,” said Dawn Gelino, head of the NASA exoplanet exploration program in a press release. “If we want to know if we are alone in the universe, all this knowledge is essential.”
Although the number of confirmed exoplanets reached 6,000, there are only about 100 that scientists have been able to observe directly. Indeed, the light of the distant worlds is often so weak that it mixes in the light emitted by the parent star. Detection methods therefore tend to be indirect; The most common method is the transit method, which implies detecting a planet by observing the orbit star, which decreases slightly for a brief moment when the planet passes in front of our point of view.
