Of the 275 candidates in the dataset — being compiled since the first K2 data release in 2014 — 149 were verified to be actual exoplanets, and of those, researchers found 54 had already been discovered earlier, leaving them with 95 previously unknown exoplanets. But we also detected planets that range from sub Earth-sized to the size of Jupiter and larger,” Andrew Mayo, a Ph.D. student of the National Space Institute (DTU Space) at the Technical University of Denmark, who was lead author of the paper announcing the discovery, said in a statement Thursday. While the scientists have been analyzing data from 2014, the story of these 95 new planets discovered outside of the solar system begins in 2009, when NASA's Kepler spacecraft was launched with the specific goal of finding exoplanets. These most recent exoplanets were spotted using Nasa’s Kepler space telescope, now in orbit around the Earth. During the latest research, the team found that some of the signals coming from the 275 candidate exoplanets they were investigating were actually being caused by multiple star systems or noise from the spacecraft. Just like the planets in the solar system range in size from the tiny Mercury (18 of it could fit inside Earth) to the gigantic Jupiter (about 1,300 Earths could fit inside it), exoplanets come in a variety of sizes and masses too — some smaller than the moon and others a few times larger than Jupiter. “We validated a planet on a 10 day orbit around a star called HD 212657 [about 254 light-years away], which is now the brightest star found by either the Kepler or K2 missions to host a validated planet.”

The brighter the host star, the more we can determine about the planet that orbits it – perhaps even more so when the next generation of much higher resolution space telescopes is launched. The search for new exoplanets is currently one of the most exciting areas of space science, one that is providing fascinating insights into our universe. “As more planets are discovered, astronomers will develop a much better picture of the nature of exoplanets which in turn will allow us to place our own solar system into a galactic context.”

The new planets range in size from smaller than Earth to larger than even the mighty Jupiter, and one of the planets was particularly special. As part of the K2 mission – the NASA Kepler telescope’s new lease on life

The number of exoplanets has risen by almost 100, as an international team of astronomers confirms a new batch found in data captured as part of the K2 mission – the NASA Kepler telescope’s new lease on life. With new, upcoming space missions like the James Webb Space Telescope and the Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite, astronomers will take exciting new steps toward characterizing and studying exoplanets like the rocky, habitable, Earth-sized planets that might be capable of supporting life.
NASA's Kepler space telescope has discovered 95 new exoplanets.