NASA has announced that the number of confirmed exoplanets has passed 6,000, a historic milestone for astronomers.
Thirty years ago, Swiss scientists Michel Mayor and Didier Queloz discovered the first “hot Jupiter,” 51 Pegasi b.
This gas giant, which is half the size of Jupiter, orbits its parent star in just 4.2 days. For comparison, scientists note that Mercury, itself a very hot planet, orbits the Sun in 88 days. According to NASA, the number of confirmed exoplanets is gradually increasing, and this count is maintained by the Exoplanet Science Institute (Pasadena, California). At the moment, another 8,000 planet candidates are waiting for confirmation.
