According to NASA scientists, the identification of 1,200 likely new ‘exoplanets’ by the US space agency’s Kepler telescope hint at a possible three-fold increase in the number of ‘exoplanets’ – that is, planets beyond our solar system.

The discovery of the new planets by the Kepler telescope includes a family of six planets that orbit a sun-like star; thereby marking the most populated planet system outside our own. In addition, scientists now opine that there are 68 Earth-sized planet candidates and 54 candidates in the habitable zone – an area where liquid water could exist on a planet’s surface.

Kepler functions in such a way that instead of producing direct images of exoplanets, the telescope actually deduces these planets by taking ultra-high-resolution images of close-by stars; and remains on the lookout either for a slight shift in position or for a slight dimming of the star from a planetary transit.

Talking about the “extraordinary planet windfall” – as one scientist has put it -, NewsHour science correspondent Miles O'Brien said during an interview that the discovery of the planets by Kepler has clearly changed “science fiction into science fact.”

O’Brien further elaborated: “It was only about 20 years ago the total number of known exoplanets was zero. And now we're approaching 1,800 planets outside our solar systems of various sizes and shapes and consistencies, if you will, some of them big gassy giants, some of them smaller and rocky, that are out there orbiting other stars, or their suns.”