The age of exoplanets began in 1992, when astronomers detected a pair of planets orbiting a pulsar. Then, in 1995, astronomers discovered the first exoplanet orbiting a main sequence star. As NASA’s Kepler and TESS missions got going, the number of confirmed exoplanets continued to rise.
By 2015, NASA announced that Kepler had discovered its 1000th exoplanet. 2016 was a banner year for exoplanet detections with nearly 1500 in that year alone. The total number reached 5000 in March of 2022. Now, NASA has announced that there are 6,000 confirmed exoplanets.
6,000 is a lot, though compared to the one hundred billion that may exist in the Milky Way, it’s a tiny amount. Still, for a fledgling space-faring civilization like ours, it’s something to celebrate.
“Writer Fuel” is a series of cool real-world stories that might inspire your little writer heart. Check out our Writer Fuel page on the LimFic blog for more inspiration.
