NASA Kepler mission finds 26 new planets in 11 new solar systems

This handout illustration provided by San Diego State
University, shows a newly discovered planet, called
Kepler 35, that circles not one but two stars.

The announcement brings the number of confirmed planets to 729, with another 2,300 possibilities

By Roque Planas / NEW YORK DAILY NEWS
Published: Friday, January 27, 2012, 12:35 AM
Updated: Friday, January 27, 2012, 12:35 AM

The known universe just got a little bigger.

Scientists at NASA's planet-hunting Kepler mission announced the discovery of 26 planets in 11 differet solar systems on Thursday, Reuters reports.

The announcement brings the number of confirmed planets to 729, with another 2,300 possible planets floating around out there.

PHOTOS: AMAZING OUTER SPACE DISCOVERIES

"This tells us that our galaxy is positively loaded with planets of all sizes and orbits," Doug Hudgins of the Kepler program said, according to CNN.  READ MORE

Astronomers discover more than 50 new planets

PARIS — Astronomers on Tuesday unveiled a haul of more than 50 planets orbiting other stars, including a "super-Earth" which inhabits a zone where, providing conditions are right, water could exist in liquid form. It is the biggest single tally in the history of exoplanet hunting since the very first world beyond the Solar System was spotted in 1995, the European Southern Observatory (ESO) said in a press release. The planets were detected using a light analyser, or spectrograph, on a 3.6-metre (11.7-feet) telescope at La Silla Observatory in the ultra-dry conditions of Chile's Atacama desert. The findings were presented at a conference on Extreme Solar Systems in Moran, Wyoming, attended by 350 exoplanet specialists. Sixteen of the planets have been designated "super-Earths", a term meaning that they are exceptionally small for exoplanets that have been spotted so far. A super-Earth is between one and 10 times the mass of the Earth. It does not necessarily mean that the world is rocky -- as opposed to gassy -- or that the conditions for life exist. READ MORE