The Kepler Space Telescope was retired in 2018, after discovering 2,600 confirmed exoplanets. But now there are three more to add to the mission’s total,
The Kepler Space Telescope was retired in 2018 after a nine-year mission that saw it discover an incredible 2,600 confirmed exoplanets, kicking off the modern era of exoplanet research. But now there are three more exoplanets to add to the mission’s total, even after the telescope has been dark for the last five years. Astronomers were recently able to use data from the very last observations of Kepler to discover three more planets.
Two of the three exoplanets have been confirmed — K2-416 b and K2-417 b — with a third planet, EPIC 246251988 b, remaining an exoplanet candidate. (To be upgraded from exoplanet candidate to confirmed exoplanet, an initial observation has to be verified through observations by two other telescopes.
