NASA’s exoplanet count surges past 5,000

Thousands more candidate planets await confirmation

image of the Milky Way with exoplanet orbits indicated by purple circles

Our galaxy hosts more than 5,000 planets (pinpointed on this image of the Milky Way). Circle sizes show relative orbit sizes; colors denote various detection methods. The dense purple patch (center left) marks where NASA’s Kepler space telescope observed during its primary mission.

M. Russo/JPL-Caltech/NASA, A. Santaguida/SYSTEM Sounds

It’s official: The number of planets known beyond our solar system has just passed 5,000.