Space exploration through the telescopes is a continuous study for the astronomers.Kepler telescope was a great help in this endeavor but will work for only a couple of years more.It is proposed to launch James Webb telescope.NASA is going to launch Wide Field Infrared Telescope (WFIRST). Europe will launch PLATO.

Our universe consists of a large number of galaxies, say 100 billion. Each galaxy has 200 to 300 billion stars. You can imagine the number of planets that move around these stars. Some of these planets are just gas giants. Many circle the stars that are too dim.Some are far off from the star.There are some rocky planets but we do not know much about them.But as there are a very large number of planets, there is a probability of finding many earth-like planets with the presence of water, the right temperature and atmosphere. Such planets are conducive for growth of life.But finding life is difficult and finding intelligent life is more difficult.If we study the history of the formation of such planets, we can understand better how the earth itself has evolved.

The first confirmed discovery of a planet was made in 1992.A planet around a star was seen in 1995.Since then cataloging has started, and 1800 planets have already been cataloged. Another 1000 are being assessed. Bigger planets can be observed directly but the smaller ones are confirmed indirectly. What is noticed is the variation in the speed of a star, when it either moves towards the earth or away from it.When a planet comes between the star and the earth, a star loses its brightness slightly. Otherwise, a planet magnifies the brightness of a star.

This is an exciting period for the hunt of the planets.