6,000 Alien Planets & a Healing Ozone Layer: Biggest Science News (Sept 17-18, 2025)
In a milestone for astronomy, NASA confirmed the 6,000th exoplanet – planets orbiting other stars – in its records this week. The official tally of alien worlds crossed the 6k mark after only ~30 years of exoplanet hunting, reflecting an exponential discovery rate space.com. “We’re entering the next great chapter of exploration – worlds beyond our imagination,” a NASA video proclaimed space.com. NASA noted that because new planets are added on a rolling basis by scientists worldwide, “no single planet is considered the 6,000th entry… There are more than 8,000 additional candidate planets awaiting confirmation” space.com. The diversity of these worlds – from lava-covered orbs to gas giants – is helping scientists understand how common Earth-like planets might be. “Each of the different types of planets we discover gives us information about the conditions under which planets can form and, ultimately, how common planets like Earth might be, and where we should be looking for them,” said Dr. Dawn Gelino, head of NASA’s Exoplanet Exploration Program at JPL space.com. “If we want to find out if we’re alone in the universe, all of this knowledge is essential,” she added space.com. This announcement comes almost exactly 30 years after astronomers discovered
