In January 1992, a pair of astronomers reported a discovery that changed the course of scientific history: They found planets outside our solar system. The detection of the first confirmed exoplanets — the term for worlds that orbit other stars — validated dreamers who for centuries believed that “innumerable celestial bodies, stars, globes, suns and earths may be sensibly perceived therein by us,” in the words of the Renaissance polymath Giordano Bruno.

Imagine another world. Now imagine 5,000 more

NASA has confirmed that there are now more than 5,000 confirmed planets beyond our solar system. "It's not just a number," said Jessie Christiansen, science lead for the archive and a research scientist with the NASA Exoplanet Science Institute at the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena, in a statement.

NASA confirms existence of more than 5,000 planets beyond our solar system

The number of confirmed exoplanets just surpassed 5,000, marking the culmination of a 30-year journey. In a milestone celebration, NASA announced that its space telescopes helped confirm thousands of new exoplanets.

NASA confirms a 'celestial milestone', 5000 exoplanets confirmed so far

Even before we had sophisticated technology at hand, we have been keen to look at the skies to uncover its secrets. As tech developed, we realised that what we could see was just a fraction of what was out there.

Three exoplanets have been 'lost', here's what's the deal

Astronomers have identified over 360 previously unknown exoplanets in a new study. The data for the research was collected from the retired Kepler space telescope.

'Incredible milestone': Astronomers identify over 360 previous unknown exoplanets

A new discovery made by NASA's Chandra X-ray Observatory is baffling astronomers. Potentially representing what would be the first planet seen to transit a star outside of the Milky Way, scientists have found evidence for a possible planet candidate in the M51 ("Whirlpool") galaxy.

Planet outside Milky Way galaxy: This unique discovery is baffling scientists

It perhaps is a dream of all of us to find a new planet or a star. If the discovery is vital enough, they even may give the planet our name. But not all of us have the scientific know-how to actually do that and all we can do is dream.

Scientists want you to help them discover new planets, here's how

Astronomers have identified a class of 'hycean' exoplanets that could prove fruitful in search of alien life as per a new study. The existence of extraterrestrial life long has been one of the paramount questions of science.

Astronomers discover class of 'hycean' exoplanets that could prove fruitful in search for alien life

Astronomers have just detected a disk of dust forming around a planet outside our solar system for the first time. The disk was detected by astronomers from the Max Planck Institute for Astronomy (MPIA) in Heidelberg.

Astronomers detect first proof of 'moon-forming' ring around far-off exoplanet

Astronomers recently discovered four teenage exoplanets situated 130 light-years away from Earth. The quartet was was found using data from NASA's TESS mission. Exoplanets are essentially planets that orbit a star outside a solar system, for which reason they're also called extrasolar planets.

Scientists find four 'teenage' exoplanets. One of them is really special.

Finding alien life has long been a preoccupation of the human mind. Scientists and artists have both cast their imagination and vision in this direction. Till today though, we haven't heard from our counterparts from space.

Rogue planets with habitable exomoons may have alien life

Six exoplanets with rhythmic movement in a planetary system 200-light years away have been found in a rare orbital dance known as the chain of resonance. According to the European Southern Observatory's Very Large Telescope, the system could provide important clues about how planets, including those in the Solar System, form and evolve.

'Chain of resonance': Six alien planets with rhythmic movement are locked in a rare orbital dance

In a groundbreaking first, British researchers have identified 50 new planets using artificial intelligence. A research team led by David Armstrong at the University of Warwick in the United Kingdom created a machine learning algorithm and trained it using data on confirmed planets and false-positives from NASA's retired Kepler mission.

Artificial Intelligence identifies 50 new planets from NASA data

Astronomers have discovered two super-Earth exoplanets orbiting a star 11 light-years away from Earth, according to a new study published in the journal Science.

Astronomers discover two super-Earths orbitting a star 11 light-years away

Astronomers have confirmed the existence of Proxima b, an Earth-size exoplanet orbiting the closest star to the sun. The researchers determined that Proxima b is 1.

Astronomers confirm existence of an Earth-size exoplanet

NASA's Kepler Mission has identified thousands of exoplanets but leaves a lot of questions about alien worlds.

Opinion: What are NASA's exo-planets

There is much more work to be done to understand what aliens might be like and where we might find them

What evolutionary theory can teach us about the appearance of aliens

exoplanets

Exoplanets, News on Exoplanets, stories on Exoplanets, articles on Exoplanets, Exoplanets stories at Wion, Exoplanets news, Exoplanets latest news