NASA | Looking for the Shadows of New Worlds

NASA's Kepler mission has been a leader in exoplanet discovery, identifying over 1000 confirmed exoplanets. Using transit photometry, Kepler detects dips in starlight as planets transit their stars. Future missions like TESS and Plato aim to expand on Kepler's work, potentially identifying Earth-like planets and even moons. Studies have pushed Kepler's data to its limits, revealing asteroid signatures in extrasolar systems. However, challenges remain, such as noise from host stars. Future missions will focus on reducing this noise to detect smaller transits, with the James Webb Space Telescope playing a key role in studying habitable worlds.

How might future missions improve our understanding of Earth-sized planets?

What questions remain about the existence of habitable worlds and Earth twins?