1. Science and space

   74% of known exoplanets were found by the dimming of their star

   4,711 of 6,375 confirmed planets were spotted as they passed in front of their star and slightly dimmed its light. That works best for planets on close orbits.

   Source: NASA Exoplanet Archive · NExScI · Caltech/IPACOpen on the chart →

   More

   A transit is a dip in starlight when a planet passes in front. The second common method detects the star’s wobble caused by the planet’s pull. The search method affects which planets are easier to find.

   Bars start at zero and count unique confirmed planets, rather than papers or measurements.

   • Confirmed planets in the current snapshot planets

     6,375 · 2026-10-05

     NASA Exoplanet Archive

   • Discovered by transit planets

     4,711

     NASA Exoplanet Archive

   Distinct planet entity_id values grouped by discovery_method. Multiple parameter records do not become multiple planets. The total reconciles to current-archive discovery counts by year.

   Snapshot 2026-10-05. Detections depend on instruments and selection; this is not an estimate of all existing planets. Current PSCompPars composite archive, snapshot 2026-10-05: parameters may be measured or derived, and parameters of one planet can use different publications. These values do not establish habitability. Acknowledge NASA Exoplanet Archive/NExScI/Caltech-IPAC under contract with NASA.

   A question for this picture

   Which kinds of planets are underrepresented by search methods?

More findings

• Almost 1,700 Earths in volume. Just 25 in mass.
• AI: 7 million times more training compute in 12 years
• 55 Cancri e: a year shorter than an Earth day
• TRAPPIST-1: seven planets, and the longest year there is 19 Earth days
• China spends as much on research as the US, yet has half as many patents filed in the US, Europe and Japan at once
• The Chelyabinsk fireball was 9 times as energetic as the next largest in NASA’s catalogue

All findings →