NASA discovers seven new planets around hotter-than-Sun star

Could there be another Earth-like planet? Is it possible that life exists beyond Earth? These are questions that remain unanswered as NASA's former active telescope, Kepler, unveils the incredible discovery of seven new planets orbiting a distant star even hotter than our Sun.

These "new planets" are scorching hot as they orbit a star larger and 5% hotter than our Sun. All seven planets in this system are significantly larger than Earth, with only two of them being slightly bigger. These two inner planets are rocky with thin atmospheres, while the outer five planets boast thick atmospheres.

The Kepler telescope, a retired space observatory, played a pivotal role in identifying this system of planets, and they have been collectively named "Kepler-385" in honour of its founder.

This system is part of the catalogue of 'planet candidates,' which signifies planetary bodies with the potential to become full-fledged planets due to their orbit around a star. Currently, there are 4,400 recorded planet candidates, including over 700 multi-planet systems. It's quite rare to find a system with more than six planet candidates, making this discovery particularly unique. A planet candidate is like a planet detected by a telescope but not yet confirmed to exist.



The creation of this catalogue focused on collecting precise information about planet systems, enabling the discovery of systems like Kepler-385.

Although the Kepler mission ceased its primary observations in 2013, it continued its extended mission until 2018 when it uncovered the Kepler-385 system. The observations from the Kepler telescope were astonishing, revealing that there are more planets in our galaxy than stars and providing a detailed glimpse into the appearance of these planet systems and their surroundings.

NASA research scientist Jack Lissauer referred to this discovery as "the most accurate list of Kepler planet candidates" and the most comprehensive collection of planet properties to date.