Here’s the thing about NASA; you almost have to believe what they say unless you are a rocket scientist yourself, and their new findings of just how vast space is will make your head spin.
They confirmed that there are over 5,000 confirmed planets beyond the Milky Way. 5,000! That total includes the 65 exoplanets they found Monday.
Here’s what Jessie Christiansen of NASA told CNN about all these exciting new worlds out there.
“It’s not just a number. Each one of them is a new world, a brand-new planet. I get excited about every one because we don’t know anything about them.”
If you’re wondering what an exoplanet is, it’s unlike anything out there. The group includes worlds larger than Earth called super-Earths, and mini-Neptunes, which are larger than Earth but check in under the size of Neptune. There are also huge exoplanets that dwarf our solar system.
According to CNN, the brainiacs at NASA have concluded that of the confirmed exoplanets, 30% are gas giants, 31% super-Earths, and 35% are Neptune-like.
Brace yourself for the discovery of even more cool things in space, thanks to some new telescopes that will be operational soon. The James Webb Space Telescope is so powerful that it will be able to look through the atmospheres of exoplanets.
If you think 5,000 sounds like a significant number, NASA scientists believe the actual amount of exoplanets is in the hundreds of billions.
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