Nasa has confirmed that there are over 5,000 exoplanets beyond our solar system.
The exoplanet census surpassed this milestone with a new batch of 65 confirmed exoplanets, triggering excitement across the globe.
“It’s not just a number,” Exoplanet Archive science lead Jessie Christiansen said in a statement as reported by CNET.
“Each one of them is a new world, a brand new planet. I get excited about every one because we don’t know anything about them.”
It’s been 30 years since scientists discovered the first planets orbiting another star. Today, exoplanets are so common that astronomers expect most stars host at least one, astronomer Aurora Kesseli of Caltech was quoted as saying by Science News.
“One of the most exciting things that I think has happened in the last 30 years is that we’ve really started to be able to fill out the diversity of exoplanets,” Kesseli added.
Some exoplanets look like Jupiter or Earth. The 5,005 confirmed exoplanets include nearly 1,500 giant gassy planets, roughly 200 that are small and rocky and almost 1,600 “super-Earths,” which are larger than our solar system’s rocky planets and smaller than Neptune, according to Science News.
While discovering these exoplanets, scientists try to find out if they are habitable or not. James Webb Space Telescope is working to go beyond the diameters, masses and densities of these planets. It will gather information about their atmospheres.
NASA’s newest exoplanet hunter, the TESS mission, has confirmed more than 200 planets, with thousands more yet to verify, Kesseli pointed out. “There’s tons of exoplanets out there,” Kesseli said, “and even more waiting to be discovered”.
Students across the UAE are celebrating as India’s Central Board of Secondary Education officially announced the 2026 Class 12 board exam results on Tuesday.
Homes and schools across the Emirates were filled with excitement and relief as students rushed online to check their scores shortly after the results were released.
Relief after months of uncertainty
The results come after an unusually challenging academic period for CBSE students in the Middle East.
In March, CBSE announced the cancellation of Class 12 board exams across Gulf countries, including the UAE, following regional tensions linked to the US-Israel-Iran conflict, which has since entered an extended ceasefire period.
Schools across the UAE had temporarily shifted to distance learning during that time, forcing major adjustments to academic schedules and assessment plans for graduating students.
Digital scorecards released first
Students are currently receiving provisional digital marksheets, while original certificates and official documents will be distributed later through schools.
CBSE confirmed that digital scorecards available through DigiLocker can, in the meantime, be used for university admissions and official applications.
Students celebrate across the UAE
While many schools are still waiting to receive consolidated results, social media has already been flooded with reactions from students celebrating strong scores and sharing their results online.
The announcement marks a major milestone for thousands of Indian curriculum students across the UAE preparing for higher education admissions in India and abroad.
Dubai is getting a major tech upgrade for trainee drivers. The Roads and Transport Authority (RTA) has updated its light vehicle driver training curriculum to include modern smart driving technologies and Advanced Driver Assistance Systems (ADAS).
The move reflects the growing number of vehicles equipped with intelligent safety features on Dubai’s roads and aims to better prepare new drivers for modern driving conditions.
What’s included in the new training?
The updated curriculum now covers training on:
Forward collision warning
Blind spot monitoring
Lane departure alerts
Parking assist systems
Adaptive cruise control
ABS braking systems
Other advanced driver safety technologies
According to Sultan Al Akraf, Director of Drivers Licensing at the RTA, the revised programme is designed to improve driver behaviour, enhance road safety and help reduce traffic accidents.
Integrated into driving schools and tests
The new content has been added to:
Theoretical lessons
Practical driving sessions
Official driver handbooks
The programme was developed in collaboration with Dubai’s driving institutes to align training with internationally recognised road safety standards.
RTA says more than 250,000 trainees have already benefited from the updated curriculum in recent years, while workshops continue to be held for driving schools to ensure instructors stay updated on evolving vehicle technologies.
As cars become increasingly automated and technology-driven, understanding ADAS systems is becoming a key part of safe driving.
Finding parking in Dubai could soon become much easier. Parkin has launched new AI-powered smart parking camera systems across three major locations in the city, introducing curb-side parking technology in the region.
The rollout covers Trade Centre One, Burj Khalifa and Al Corniche, where more than 500 curb and pole-mounted cameras are being installed.
How the system works
The new system uses AI to automatically capture vehicle images, read number plates and detect entry and exit times without the need for traditional parking meters or manual checks.
Parkin has also deployed 200 parking lot cameras capable of:
Calculating parking fees automatically
Enabling seamless auto-payment
Detecting parking violations
Tracking real-time parking occupancy
All cameras are solar powered, supporting Dubai’s wider sustainability goals.
Integrated with Parkin app
The smart parking system will be fully integrated into the Parkin app, allowing drivers to pay automatically through the Parkin Wallet feature.
Officials say the technology is designed to reduce congestion caused by drivers searching for parking spaces while improving overall traffic flow and parking management efficiency.
