---
title: "NASA Just Released an Incredible Map of All Known Exoplanets"
description: "NASA just dropped an astonishing elaborate map of the over 4,003 exoplanets that we know to exist outside our Solar System."
date: "2019-07-11"
modified: "2019-07-11"
authors:
  - name: "Victor Tangermann"
    job_title: "Senior Editor"
    link: "https://futurism.com/authors/victor"
url: "https://futurism.com/the-byte/nasa-incredible-map-4000-exoplanets"
categories:
  - "Astronomy"
  - "Exoplanets"
  - "NASA"
  - "Space"
tags:
  - "exoplanet"
  - "james webb telescope"
  - "Space Telescope"
  - "the digest"
---

# NASA Just Released an Incredible Map of All Known Exoplanets

![NASA just dropped an astonishing elaborate map of the over 4,003 exoplanets that we know to exist outside our Solar System.](<https://futurism.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/nasa-incredible-map-4000-exoplanets.jpg>)
*\<em\>Image: NASA\</em\>*

## Exoplanet Map

NASA just dropped an astonishingly elaborate map of more than 4,000 exoplanets known to exist outside our Solar System, which takes the form of a video that shows how many exoplanets we've discovered each year since 1991.

Exoplanets are not only interesting to us because they orbit a different star, but also because they have the potential to harbor life.

https://youtu.be/aiFD_LBx2nM

It's an impressive visualization of the exponential rate at which we're discovering outside worlds many light-years away. That's in part thanks to the Kepler Space Telescope, NASA's now-retired orbital imaging craft that searched the far reaches of deep space for exoplanets since it launched in 2009.

## Space Telescopes

While Kepler had to be retired last year, other satellites and space telescopes have picked up where it left off, including NASA’s Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite, which recently [spotted its smallest exoplanet](<https://futurism.com/nasa-tess-spotted-smallest-exoplanet-ever>) ever.

And future space telescopes are also in the planning stages, such as the European Characterising Exoplanets Satellite, scheduled to launch later this year.

Unfortunately, NASA's latest planned space telescope, the James Webb Telescope, has been facing a lot of [delays](<https://futurism.com/james-webb-telescope-delayed>), while getting heat from Congress about NASA drastically going over budget for the project.

**READ MORE:** [NASA drops insane map of 4,000 planets outside our solar system](<https://www.cnet.com/news/nasa-drops-insane-map-of-4000-planets-discovered-outside-our-solar-system/>) \[*CNET*\]

**More on exoplanets:** *[Gravitational Wave Detector May Find Exoplanets in Nearby Galaxies](<https://futurism.com/the-byte/gravitational-wave-exoplanets-galaxies>)*

## Author
I've been at Futurism since 2017, where my role has evolved to encompass design, writing, and increasingly editing. I've always been fascinated by space exploration and advanced transportation, which I've leaned into by interviewing luminaries in those fields while closely following the dimensions of policy and regulation that allow next-generation projects to succeed -- or, sometimes, to fail. I'm also keenly interested in the effects of generative AI on society, policies, and democratic institutions, as well as clean energy, physics and biology, and the vagaries of tech leadership. My work for Futurism has been cited by publications including Ars Technica, Gizmodo, PC Magazine, Jalopnik, Fox News, and the New York Post. I spent my childhood living in locations including Manila, the Philippines, and Geneva, Switzerland, attended McGill University, and now live in Toronto, Canada. Before Futurism I worked at AskMen and a small photography studio. In my free time, I'm an avid gardener, foodie, and craft beer lover, as well as a maker of artisanal hot pepper sauces. I have a magnificent dog named Freida.

### Author social links  
[Bluesky](<https://bsky.app/profile/vtanger.bsky.social>)