AI System RAVEN Confirms Over 100 Exoplanets and Identifies Rare Planetary Types

Sun, 03 May 2026 16:36:00 +0200

Astronomers at the University of Warwick have utilized a new artificial intelligence system called RAVEN to analyze NASA’s TESS mission data, leading to the confirmation of over 100 exoplanets, including 31 newly discovered worlds. By examining observations from more than 2.2 million stars, the team focused on planets with short orbital periods, completing orbits in under 16 days. Among the confirmed planets are ultra-short-period planets that orbit their stars in less than a day, as well as planets located in the so-called 'Neptunian desert,' a region where planets are rare. RAVEN's advanced machine learning capabilities help distinguish genuine planetary signals from false positives caused by binary stars or instrumental noise. Beyond individual discoveries, the researchers analyzed planetary populations, finding that about 9-10% of Sun-like stars host close-in planets and quantifying the rarity of Neptunian desert planets at only 0.08%. The study demonstrates the power of AI in proc