NASA Telescope to Discover 1,000+ New Planets by 2031

Scientists are about to get their deepest look ever at the bustling center of our galaxy, and the discoveries could rewrite what we know about planets like Earth.

NASA's Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope launches in 2026 on a mission to study the dense region around our galaxy's core. Over five years, it will watch hundreds of millions of stars every 12 minutes, tracking changes in their light and motion to reveal hidden worlds orbiting distant suns.

The telescope will use a technique called microlensing, which detects planets by observing how their gravity bends light from background stars. Think of it like a cosmic magnifying glass that reveals planets we could never see before.

While most planet-hunting methods only find worlds close to their stars, microlensing can spot planets much farther out. Roman will see everything from Mars-sized rocky worlds to giant planets like Jupiter, and even lonely rogue planets drifting through space without any star at all.

The numbers tell an exciting story. Scientists expect to find over 1,000 new planets using just this one method. That's five times more than the roughly 200 planets discovered with microlensing so far, out of over 6,000 confirmed planets total.

"For the first time, we will have a big picture understanding of Earth and our solar system within the broader context of the exoplanet population of the Milky Way galaxy," said Jessie Christiansen of Caltech, who helped design the survey.

The telescope will focus on six patches of sky near the galactic center during 438 days of observation spread across six seasons. This region contains the highest concentration of stars in our entire galaxy.

Why This Inspires

The Roman mission answers a question humans have wondered about for generations: how common are worlds like ours? By creating the first complete census of planets across different distances from their stars, scientists will finally know if Earth-like planets are rare cosmic accidents or scattered abundantly throughout the galaxy.

The survey will reveal patterns in how planets form and where they end up, giving us context for our own solar system's place in the universe. Every new planet discovered is another data point bringing us closer to understanding whether life-friendly worlds might be waiting elsewhere in our cosmic neighborhood.

This comprehensive map of planetary systems will guide future missions searching for signs of life beyond Earth.

Scientists will finally answer whether Earth is truly special or just one of billions.