With the help of Kepler Space Telescope on its K2 mission, more than 100 new exoplanets have been discovered by astronomers that were confirmed by NASA.
In total 104 new planets found, just four of them are around 20%-50% larger than Earth. These planets have potential to be rocky in nature and some might even potentially support life.
Two of the planets have been ruled out as unsafe according to the Astronomers as they're too hot to support life. But the other two namely, K2-72c and K2-72e are supposedly in a promising "habitable zone," where liquid water could pool on the surface and support life.
These planets are orbiting in the habitable zone around a single dwarf star. The dwarf star is less than half the size of our sun.
The K2 mission was launched in 2014 which is extending Kepler's legacy because this mission can see more of the sky than any other telescope. K2 has been able to observe more nearby red-dwarf stars, which are cool, small and common in the Milky Way.
From the initial observations, a year on K2-72c that is closest to its dwarf star is equal to 15 days on Earth. The planet is supposedly 10% warmer than our planet. K2-72e revolves around its star in 24 days on Earth. This planet is about 6% colder than ours.
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