10 New Alien Planets a Diverse Bunch, Telescope Shows Artist's
impression of the CoRoT satellite. CREDIT: CNES/Active Design A
European space telescope has discovered 10 previously unknown
alien planets, including two Neptune-like objects that circle
the same star, researchers announced today (June 14). France's
CoRoT satellite detected the 10 alien planets, all of which are
gaseous like Saturn or Jupiter. However, they exhibit a range of
masses, densities, orbital characteristics and other properties,
researchers said. The new discoveries highlight the diversity of
worlds beyond our solar system and boost the confirmed count of
extrasolar planets up to 565, they added. "Ever since the early
days of exoplanet astronomy, we’ve been amazed by the variety of
planets that have been discovered: gaseous giants larger than
Jupiter and smaller, rocky bodies, down to masses comparable to
the Earth’s," said Malcolm Fridlund, the European Space Agency's
project scientist for CoRoT, in a statement. [Photos: The
Strangest