Produced by: Tarun Mishra
On August 24, 2023, scientists confirmed the discovery of six new exoplanets, increasing the total number of confirmed exoplanets to 5,502. This marks a significant milestone in the study of worlds beyond our solar system.
Credit: NASA/JPL-CALTECH
The first exoplanets were confirmed in 1992 when Poltergeist and Phobetor were detected orbiting the pulsar PSR B1257+12. The milestone of 5,000 exoplanets was reached in March 2022.
The six newly confirmed exoplanets are: - **HD 36384 b** - **TOI-198 b** - **TOI-2095 b** - **TOI-2095 c** - **TOI-4860 b** - **MWC 758 c**
Credit: ESA
This super-Jupiter orbits a giant M dwarf star nearly 40 times the size of the Sun. It was discovered using the radial velocity method, which detects the gravitational influence of planets on their host stars.
Credit: NASA
A potentially rocky planet situated at the innermost edge of the habitable zone of its star, an M dwarf. It was discovered using the transit method, which observes the dimming of a star as a planet crosses in front of it.
Credit: NASA
Both large, hot super-Earths orbit the same M dwarf star. They were also discovered using the transit method and are likely to be more similar to Venus than Earth.
A Jupiter-sized gas giant, or "hot Jupiter," that completes an orbit every 1.52 days around an M dwarf star. This planet was discovered via the transit method and is notable for its close orbit to its star.
Credit: NASA
A giant protoplanet found orbiting a very young star with an active protoplanetary disk. Discovered using direct imaging, it was observed interacting with its star's protoplanetary disk, marking one of the first exoplanets found in such a system.
The discovery of these exoplanets highlights the progress in exoplanet science, supported by instruments such as NASA's Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS), Spitzer, Hubble, and the James Webb Space Telescope. The upcoming Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope, set for launch in May 2027, will enhance exoplanet detection capabilities further.