A major advancement in technology has made it possible to discover the existence of over 4,000 planets. They are called exoplanets because they can be found outside our solar system. NASA recently discovered the 4,000th exoplanet.

 

NASA celebrates this discovery of the 4,000th exoplanet as a major breakthrough because this discovery was impossible thirty years ago. They subsequently created a video showing the various planet discoveries in the order of their discovery.

 

 

The first of these celestial bodies were first confirmed 27 years ago. Kepler Space Telescope carried out the job of exploring these planets. The telescope, a satellite, revolved around the sun for almost ten years. It looks into the depth of space to find out all the many wonders and mysteries the universe has to offer.

 

The Kepler, although no longer in use, could help the quick and successive detection of the exoplanets. It did a great job of this when it began orbiting the sun in 2010. It could confirm the existence of thousands of planets.

 

The telescope collected scientific data of about 678 GB along with documenting 61 supernovae. A supernova is an exquisite point of light that occurs as a result of the explosion of a star after it reaches the end of its life. Supernovae sometimes shine brighter than entire galaxies. They are also known to radiate more energy than the sun ever will.

 

 

Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite

After NASA put the Kepler to rest, it launched a new satellite to continue this good work. In 2018, the space organisation sent the Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS) to space to search for more exoplanets.

 

TESS intends to explore other areas uncovered by the Kepler. It will use four wide-angle telescopes to perform the search. These telescopes, associated with charge-coupled device detectors, transmit data to Earth every fortnight.

 

NASA headquarters astrophysics director, Paul Hertz believes that the mission has the potential to discover another Earth.