NASA’s exoplanet count surges past 5,000
Thousands more candidate planets await confirmation
![image of the Milky Way with exoplanet orbits indicated by purple circles](https://i0.wp.com/www.sciencenews.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/032222_lk_exoplanets_feat.jpg?fit=1030%2C580&ssl=1)
Our galaxy hosts more than 5,000 planets (pinpointed on this image of the Milky Way). Circle sizes show relative orbit sizes; colors denote various detection methods. The dense purple patch (center left) marks where NASA’s Kepler space telescope observed during its primary mission.
M. Russo/JPL-Caltech/NASA, A. Santaguida/SYSTEM Sounds