Kepler May Uncover Numerous Ring Worlds

astroengine writes: "According to a new publication, NASA's Kepler exoplanet hunting space telescope may soon start discovering Saturn-like ringed alien worlds. So far, none have been positively identified as Kepler has only detected exoplanets orbiting close to their parent stars; if these exoplanets have rings, they are most likely to have rings facing edge-on to their orbits, so making them nearly impossible to detect. As more distant-orbiting exoplanets are detected, there's more likelihood ringed worlds will be tilted, allowing Kepler to see them. And astronomers know what they're looking for..."