There are more than 5,000 confirmed "To my thinking, it is inevitable that we'll find some kind of

life somewhere – most likely of some primitive kind," said

planets beyond our solar system, NASA Alexander Wolszczan, the lead author of a 1992 paper that
says confirmed the first exoplanets.
March 22, 202210:04 AM ET

In a milestone for astronomy – and possibly the search for
extraterrestrial life – NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory
confirmed there are now 5,000 known planets beyond our
solar system.
These so-called exoplanets include rocky worlds roughly the
size of Earth, gas giants larger than Jupiter and "mini-
Neptunes."
"It's not just a number," Jessie Christiansen, science lead for
the NASA Exoplanet Archive and a research scientist with
the NASA Exoplanet Science Institute at Caltech, said in a
statement.
"Each one of them is a new world, a brand-new planet. I get
excited about every one because we don't know anything
about them," Christiansen added.
Some are called super-Earths
Of the 5,000 planets found so far, 35% are Neptune-like,
similar in size to Neptune or Uranus and can be ice giants or
much warmer. Around 31% are called super-Earths –
ranging in size from Earth to Neptune and possibly rocky –
while 30% are gas giants.
Astronomers discovered the first exoplanets by using the
"wobble" method of tracking the subtle teetering of a star
caused by the gravitational pulls of orbiting planets.
Then they sent up a space telescope and had it look at more
than 170,000 stars, watching for dips in light that would
indicate a planet passed by. This is known as the "transit"
method, and it's how most of the known exoplanets have
been found.

Scientists are getting better at discovering them

Scientists' ability to find new exoplanets is exploding, with a
growing understanding of how to locate planets beyond our
solar system and the technological tools to do it, such as
the Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite launched in 2018
and the recently launched James Webb Space Telescope.
Our galaxy is likely home to billions of exoplanets, NASA
says. And the truth about extraterrestrial life may be out
there.
Scientists discover new planet that could more appealing to scientists. Prior to the discovery, the
support human life closest known Earth-like planet was Wolf 1061c, which is
14 light years away, while “Proxima B’ is estimated to be
INQUIRER.net / 02:53 PM August 25, 2016 around 4 light years away.
Although it would still take 1,000 years or more before our
Scientists have long confirmed that life in other planets,
astronauts could travel to it, the planet is still deemed close
aside from Earth, is indeed possible, but only if these
enough for scientists to study.
have water that can sustain human life.
“The first hints of a possible planet were spotted back in
On Wednesday (Thursday in Manila) astrophysicists from
2013,” the paper’s lead scientist, Guillem Anglada-Escude,
European Southern Observatory (ESO) in Germany
was quoted as saying in the report.
announced the presence of a newly discovered Earth-like
In January, Anglada-Escuade, along with his team,
planet orbiting a nearby star.
launched the Pale Red Dot campaign, which promoted the
efforts in confirming the existence of “Proxima B” to the
Dubbed as Proxima B, the rocky celestial was unraveled
general public.
near the Proxima Centauri, one of the three stars in our
solar system and the closest one to earth, a New York
The group wrapped up the campaign in April, after
Post report said.
combining data with images collected from ESO
Much like Earth, the planet has water and was found
observatories and telescopes.
orbiting along the star’s “Goldilock’s Zone,” a habitable
“Many exoplanets have been found and many more will be
area where temperatures aren’t so cold that water freezes,
found,” the head researcher told the report. “Searching for
like Mars, but is not so hot either that water evaporates, like
the closest potential Earth-analogue and succeeding has
Venus.
been the experience of a lifetime for all of us.”
First discovered in 1915, the Alpha Centauri System is part
The full manuscript of their momentous findings will
of the Centaurus constellation and is so close to one another
reportedly be published on Aug. 25 (Aug. 26 in Manila).
that its two stars, Alpha Centauri A and Alpha Centauri B,
Khristian Ibarrola
can actually be seen in the night sky. The former is
considered the brightest star visible from Earth, excluding
the sun.
Aside from the presence of water, the newly discovered
planet’s proximity to the solar system is what makes it