Scientists tracked faint signals from the stars — and may have turned up hundreds of undiscovered planets

An illustration of a series of brown and blue planets in a dark starry space background.

Scientists have found a potential shortcut for identifying stars that host planets. The technique, based on specific signals in starlight, could make it easier to search for exoplanets, according to a new study. The team has already used their new method to turn up half a dozen previously undiscovered planets — but because most of the alien worlds are very close to their stars, they are unlikely to be habitable, the study authors say. Many of the 6,000-plus known exoplanets are located extremely close to their host stars. This proximity often doesn't turn out well for such close-in worlds, whose surfaces get whipped up by the stars' intense radiation and form comet-like tails of debris. This includes exoplanets like K2-22b, which was analyzed by the James Webb Space Telescope in 2025. The debris typically remains, for millions of years, as a cloud circling the planet's host star.