Quiet stars may harbor hundreds of undiscovered exoplanets, study finds

Astronomers propose a method that uses spectra from magnetically quiet stars and radial-velocity analysis to efficiently spot planets. In a study of 24 stars from the Dispersed Matter Planet Project, they identified 14 stars hosting 24 exoplanets (7 new), with an occurrence rate 8–10 times higher than previous radial-velocity surveys. If scaled to about 16,000 nearby stars, the approach could reveal roughly 300 more planets around stars showing low magnetic activity, suggesting a more targeted planet search could be fruitful.