Space & Astronomy

NASA discovers 10 near-Earth size exoplanets

By T.K. Randall
June 19, 2017

Image: AI-generated (Midjourney) Discovered with the help of the Kepler Space Telescope, the new planetary haul consists of 219 candidate worlds in total with ten of these being potentially very similar to our own planet.

"There are now 4,034 planet candidates identified by Kepler. Of which, 2,335 have been verified as exoplanets," NASA wrote in a statement. "Of roughly 50 near-Earth size habitable zone candidates detected by Kepler, more than 30 have been verified."

"Additionally, results using Kepler data suggest two distinct size groupings of small planets. Both results have significant implications for the search for life."

With 219 potential new worlds out there, some could be habitable & 10 of them like our own. Here's things to know: https://t.co/DIGV6HOEDR pic.twitter.com/QRUBrQuUkg

— NASA (@NASA) June 19, 2017

The findings were revealed today at a news conference at NASA's Ames Research Center.

"The Kepler data set is unique, as it is the only one containing a population of these near Earth-analogs - planets with roughly the same size and orbit as Earth," said scientist Mario Perez.

"Understanding their frequency in the galaxy will help inform the design of future NASA missions to directly image another Earth."

Source: Independent

Tags: Exoplanets