Seven exoplanets orbit a star hotter than the Sun

The long-decommissioned Kepler space telescope discovers a rare planetary system containing seven planets. It is very different from our Earth.

Washington, DC – NASA’s Kepler space telescope has been out of operation since 2018 – but with its help, research is still able to discover previously unknown planets. The latest discovery is that NASA publishedAn amazing discovery: In the Kepler-385 planetary system, seven planets orbit a star that is slightly larger and slightly hotter than our sun.

This discovery was made by researchers who compiled a catalog of all the candidate planets discovered by Kepler during its mission. Science refers to candidate planets as potential planets that have been discovered using telescopes, but whose existence has not yet been confirmed. The new catalog lists nearly 4,400 planet candidates — including more than 700 systems with multiple planets.

NASA discovers a planetary system consisting of seven planets

The Kepler-385 planetary system differs significantly from our solar system: “Each planet bathes more radiant heat from its host star per surface area than any planet in our solar system,” NASA writes. In contrast to our solar system, the planets in the Kepler-385 system all fall within a certain size range: all seven planets are larger than Earth and smaller than Neptune.

Kepler-385 is one of the few known planetary systems with more than six confirmed planets or planet candidates. the The most famous system with seven exoplanets is Trappist-1. About 40 light-years away. In the center of Kepler-385 there is a sun-like star. It is about ten percent larger and five percent hotter than our Sun.

According to NASA, the two innermost planets in the system are slightly larger than Earth. NASA experts suspect that they are rocky planets just like Earth. They may have a subtle vibe. The other five planets are larger, with a radius twice that of Earth, and are said to be enveloped in a thick atmosphere.

The Kepler Space Telescope has discovered more than 3,300 exoplanets

The Kepler space telescope operated from 2009 to 2018, searching for exoplanets – that is, planets outside our solar system – in space. The mission was halted in 2018, but all the data collected by the telescope has not yet been evaluated. This means that discoveries based on Kepler data are continuing. To date, the telescope has discovered more than 3,300 exoplanets, with another 4,400 planet candidates awaiting confirmation. (unpaid bill)