The number of confirmed planets outside of our solar system—known as exoplanets—has risen to 6,000, NASA has said. There is huge variety across these distant worlds, the space agency says, with discoveries including rocky planets, lava worlds, and gas giants enveloping their stars.
Plenty more discoveries are likely on the way. As a result of continued monitoring by NASA’s Exoplanet Science Institute (NExScI), there are more than 8,000 potential planets that have been identified and are awaiting confirmation. With future missions it has planned, including the Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope and the Habitable Worlds Observatory, the US space agency hopes to discover more Earth-like planets and worlds with possible