This 22-year-old found four new planets

A UBC astronomy student has discovered four planets beyond our solar system, reports Motherboard, The Province and other media outlets.

Michelle Kunimoto, who’s graduating with a bachelor degree in physics and astronomy, sifted through masses of data collected by NASA’s Kepler spacecraft. The largest of her four discoveries is a warm Neptune-like planet, which UBC physics and astronomy professor Jamie Matthews says is likely uninhabitable, but would probably have moons that could be home to liquid oceans and perhaps even life.

Similar stories appeared in the Vancouver Sun, Ottawa Citizen, Montreal Gazette, Saskatoon Star Phoenix, and Metro News.