Amateur stargazers discover new planet Mr Holmes, of Peterborough, said: "I've never even had a telescope. I've had a passing interest in where things are in the sk, but never had any more knowledge about it than that. Being the one to find something is a very exciting position. The project's team have not yet been able to reach Mr Threapleton. Dr Chris Lintott of Oxford University said the planet was likely to be too hot to sustain life. It is thought to be only the third time British amateurs have found a new planet, according to the Daily Mail. Mr Holmes and Mr Threapleton were following in the footsteps of the first of them, William Herschel, who discovered Uranus in 1781.