NASA’s Tally of Planets Outside Our Solar System Reaches 6,000 – NASA

while our solar system hosts an equal number of rocky and giant planets, rocky planets appear to be more common in the universe. Researchers have also found a range of planets entirely different from those in our solar system. There are Jupiter-size planets that orbit closer to their parent star than Mercury orbits the Sun; planets that orbit two stars, no stars, and dead stars; planets covered in lava; some with the density of Styrofoam; and others with clouds made of gemstones.

“Each of the different types of planets we discover gives us information about the conditions under which planets can form and, ultimately, how common planets like Earth might be, and where we should be looking for them,”
— Read on www.nasa.gov/universe/exoplanets/nasas-tally-of-planets-outside-our-solar-system-reaches-6000/