New Planets

NASA discovered more than 100 new planets and at least four could hold alien life.

18:15 19 July 2016

More than 100 new planets were discovered by a team of international team of astronomers. So far, they have reported finding 197 planet candidates, with 104 planets already confirmed by scientists, who said that the possibility of life on at least four planets couldn’t be ruled out.

 

The planets, which were found 181 years away, are all between 20 and 50per cent larger than Earth by diameter and are orbiting the M dwarf star K2-72.

 

Astronomers made their findings by combining data with follow-up observations by earth-based telescopes including the North Gemini telescope and the WM Keck Observatory in Hawaii.

 

Professor Ian Crossfield, a researcher at the University of Arizona's Lunar and Planetary Laboratory, who led the study, said: 'An analogy would be to say that Kepler performed a demographic study, while the K2 mission focuses on the bright and nearby stars with different types of planets.

 

'The K2 mission allows us to increase the number of small, red stars by a factor of 20, significantly increasing the number of astronomical 'movie stars' that make the best systems for further study.'