A NASA Telescope Just Doubled Its Haul of Known Planets

The Kepler spacecraft continues to pump out piles of exoplanets, helping astronomers explore whether we are alone in the universe.

By now, it’s no secret that the sky is swarming with planets, and as NASA’s Kepler spacecraft continues to cast its net into the cosmic ocean, it’s reeling in alien worlds faster than any other planet hunter in history.

Today, Kepler scientists announced that we can add 1,284 new exoplanets to the list of confirmed worlds. The haul boosts the Kepler mission’s total to 2,325 discovered exoworlds, which accounts for more than two-thirds of the known planets in the galaxy.

“This is the most exoplanets that have ever been announced at one time,” Princeton University’s Timothy Morton said during a May 10 press conference revealing the discovery. “This announcement … more than doubles the amount of known Kepler exoplanets.”

These new planets

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