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Our galaxy is looking far more crowded. NASA has confirmed a bonanza of 715 newly discovered planets outside our solar system, including four alien worlds that could potentially support life.

Scientists using the planet-hunting Kepler telescope have nearly doubled the number of planets discovered in the galaxy. The figure is now about 1,700. Twenty years ago, astronomers had not found any planets circling stars other than our sun.

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Astronomers used a new confirmation technique to come up with the largest batch of planets announced at one time. NASA made the announcement Wednesday.

The more we explore the more we find familiar traces of ourselves amongst the stars that remind us of home

All the new planets are in systems like ours where multiple planets circle a star. Nearly 95% of them planets are smaller than Neptune, which is almost four times the size of Earth.

“The Kepler team continues to amaze and excite us with their planet hunting results,” said John Grunsfeld, associate administrator for NASA’s Science Mission Directorate in Washington. “That these new planets and solar systems look somewhat like our own, portends a great future when we have the James Webb Space Telescope in space to characterize the new worlds.”