Most candidate multi-planet systems spotted by the Kepler space telescope probably contain true exoplanets, according to a statistical analysis.
Kepler spots potential planets beyond our Solar System by looking for tiny dips in brightness as the planets pass in front of their host stars. The method allows the telescope to monitor many stars at once, but can also give false-positive signals.
Assuming that false positives would be randomly distributed among the stars, Jack Lissauer at NASA's Ames Research Center in Moffett Field, California, and his team conducted a statistical test of where candidate planets identified by Kepler are located. They found that more than a third of possible candidates exist as part of multi-planet systems. This is higher than predicted by chance, suggesting that most of these systems contain true planets.
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Exoplanet signals ring true. Nature 485, 283 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1038/485283b
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/485283b
