NASA released dramatic new findings from the planet-scouting Kepler spacecraft project Thursday. Looks like the universe is way, way more crowded than we had realized.
Featured comment by RyanVarley:
"Theres over 700 confirmed exoplanets... (http://exoplanet.eu/catalog.php)
Kepler has just doubled the number it itself has found since its mission ..." More »
Someone call John Lithgow and pull French Stewart out of storage, a team of astronomers using the Kepler telescope have discovered the smallest of exoplanets, and tiniest solar system, so far. And their existence may show that our solar system isn't all that unique.
Astronomers have found two more new planets orbiting binary stars: Kepler-34b and Kepler-35b. Their discovery, which follows the original Tatooine discovery back in September 2011, is quite important: now we know there are millions of planets orbiting binary stars.
The possibility of alien life has captivated our imaginations for generations. Now that possibility just got a big boost as Kepler's managed to find and confirm a potentially Earth-like planet. It's just 600 light years away and occupies that magic 'habitable zone' around its star, like the Earth does around the sun.
Featured comment by Sam Gibbs:
"Considering they've coined the phrase 'Earth's twin' for Kepler missions, perhaps. But then maybe not -- they'd probably have preferred the full headl..." More »
103 
