Kepler object of interest

A Kepler object of interest (KOI) is a star observed by the Kepler space telescope that is suspected of hosting one or more transiting planets. KOIs come from a master list of 150,000 stars, which itself is generated from the Kepler Input Catalog (KIC). A KOI shows a periodic dimming, indicative of an unseen planet passing between the star and Earth, eclipsing part of the star. However, such an observed dimming is not a guarantee of a transiting planet, because other astronomical objects—such as an eclipsing binary in the background—can mimic a transit signal. For this reason, the majority of KOIs are as yet not confirmed transiting planet systems.

The Kepler mission lasted for 4 years from 2009 to 2013.^[1] The K2 mission continued the mission for next 5 years and ended in October 2018.^[2] It is important to note that KOI provides catalogue 10,000 astronomical bodies^[3] and many of those have been confirmed as exoplanets since then but with Kepler missions end, the KOI numbers are not going to increase and with advanced technology telescope like JWST, KOIs could get confirmation on being exoplanets faster than past.^[4]