To find confirmed exoplanets, start with NASA’s Exoplanet Catalog, where you can browse planets and filter by discovery method or facility. Use the NASA Exoplanet Archive for confirmed-planet records and system parameters, then follow a record’s cited paper or discovery announcement to understand how the planet’s status was established. A signal marked as a candidate is not yet a confirmed planet.
Where to search for NASA-listed exoplanets
Browse the NASA Exoplanet Catalog
The NASA Exoplanet Catalog is the easiest place to explore confirmed exoplanets. Its filters let you narrow results by discovery method, planet type, spacecraft, observatory, or other facility. NASA describes the catalog as continuously updated, so use its live results for a current count rather than relying on an older total.
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“NASA-listed” does not necessarily mean NASA alone discovered the planet. Discovery teams and facilities can include organizations outside NASA; the catalog is NASA’s resource for browsing the records.
Check the record and its cited evidence
NASA’s Exoplanet Watch resources point to the NASA Exoplanet Archive for confirmed targets and system parameters. Treat a catalog or archive entry as the starting point: open the cited discovery paper or announcement for the observations and follow-up behind the status. A record provides useful data, but the cited evidence explains why researchers regard the object as a planet.
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What a detection method tells you
Most exoplanets are inferred from their effects on light or on their host star; a catalog entry does not mean that a conventional photograph of the planet exists. NASA describes several methods, each revealing a different kind of signal.
| Method | Signal observed | What it can show | Key constraint |
|---|---|---|---|
| Transit | A repeating dip in a star’s brightness as a planet crosses in front of it from our viewpoint. | The dip’s depth helps researchers infer the planet’s size. | The orbit must be aligned so the planet passes across the star from Earth’s perspective. |
| Radial velocity | Shifts in the star’s spectrum as the star moves toward and away from us under the planet’s gravitational pull. | The stellar wobble can help determine the planet’s mass. | Researchers need to measure a stellar motion that can be attributed to an orbiting companion. |
| Gravitational microlensing | A temporary change in observed light caused by the gravity of a foreground system magnifying light from a background source. | A lensing event can reveal a planet’s presence. | The signal is tied to a particular alignment and event rather than a recurring transit. |
| Direct imaging | Light from a planet separated from the glare of its host star. | It can provide a direct view of the planet’s light. | Separating the planet’s light from its star is an observational challenge. |
Transit and radial-velocity measurements are not interchangeable: one tracks a change in brightness and helps estimate size, while the other tracks stellar motion and can help determine mass. Nor does one observation automatically settle the object’s status; researchers have to consider alternative explanations for the signal. NASA’s overview of how exoplanets are found and characterized describes these approaches.
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Candidate, confirmed, and validated: what the labels mean
Candidate
A candidate is a signal that merits investigation, not a planet confirmed by the label alone. An eclipsing stellar companion, a brown dwarf, dust, blended stars, or a data or instrument artifact can mimic or complicate a planetary signal. NASA’s guide, 10 Steps to Confirm a Planet Around Another Star, explains why researchers test competing explanations.
Confirmed
In that guide, NASA describes detection by two different techniques as the standard route to confirmation. The techniques can provide complementary evidence, but this should not be mistaken for a rule that every confirmed planet has been observed by two telescopes. The important point is that researchers need evidence capable of distinguishing a planet from plausible alternatives.
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Validated
NASA’s guide uses “validated” for a different kind of conclusion: separate telescopes use the same method, and the scrutiny supports greater than 99 percent confidence that the object is a planet. Do not treat “validated” and “confirmed” as interchangeable labels; the guide distinguishes the evidence routes.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.How researchers rule out false positives
There is no single follow-up checklist that fits every candidate. The right observations depend on which non-planetary explanation could produce the signal. NASA’s technical report on planet confirmation and exclusion of astrophysical false positives discusses follow-up spectroscopy, photometry, imaging, and radial-velocity observations.
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For example, if an eclipsing binary could be mistaken for a planet, multi-epoch radial-velocity measurements can establish whether the secondary object has a stellar mass. In the report’s described case, at least two observations near opposite quadrature are required. That example is specific to the scenario; it is not a universal minimum for every candidate.
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When reading a discovery paper, look for the alternative explanations the team considered and the observations used to test them. A transit signal may need checks for blended or eclipsing stars; another case may call for spectroscopy, imaging, or radial velocity. The evidence should match the suspected false-positive configuration.
How many exoplanets has NASA confirmed?
NASA reported that the official number of confirmed exoplanets reached 6,000 in September 2025 in “30 Years of Exoplanets.” That is a dated milestone, not a live 2026 count. Because NASA’s catalog is continuously updated, consult the catalog itself for the current total and note the date when reporting a number.
Can you help observe an exoplanet?
NASA Exoplanet Watch offers an optional hands-on route for people interested in transit observations. Its resources describe using the EXOTIC data-reduction tool on sample transit data to make a light curve and measure transit depth and mid-transit time; the program also links to target lists and observation-planning resources. These activities can support learning and observation, but a consumer telescope or a software run does not by itself independently confirm a newly reported planet.
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