The strange new worlds scientists discovered in 2024

Astronomers detected hundreds more new worlds beyond the solar system this year and worked to better understand what makes them tick. The number of confirmed exoplanets — planets that don't orbit the sun — is up to 5,788, according to NASA, with thousands of additional candidates under review. All these worlds exist in our galaxy, though scientists believe they detected one planet outside the Milky Way in 2021.Keep in mind the growing tally is a tiny sampling of planets in space