A new study utilizing microlensing, a method detecting planets by their gravitational lensing effect, suggests a significant population of rocky super-Earths orbit distant stars like Jupiter and Saturn in our solar system. This contrasts with current exoplanet discovery methods (transit and radial velocity), which are biased towards planets orbiting closer to their stars. Microlensing offers a way to detect planets further out, revealing a more complete picture of exosolar systems.

Prepared by Olivia Bennett and reviewed by editorial team.