Four new Earth-like planets discovered

The search for 'Earth 2.0' – another watery planet with life – has come a step closer with the discovery of 715 planets orbiting stars beyond our own solar system, according to NASA scientists.

The latest results from NASA's programme to find "exoplanets" lend further support to the idea that the Milky Way – which is just one galaxy of many billions – is teeming with planets, many of which are similar to our own.

Scientists identified the new planets using a new statistical method to analyse data gathered by the €438m Kepler telescope, which was launched in 2009. This has almost overnight boosted the total number of confirmed exoplanets in the Milky Way to about 1,700 – with another 3,500 candidate planets waiting to be confirmed. The total number of habitable exoplanets has now reached nine.

The very first extra-solar planet was identified about 20 years ago and since then, there has been a revolution in the way that astronomers can identify the tiny perturbations in starlight they create as they orbit their own stars.

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