An international team of researchers has confirmed a cosmic "treasure trove" of more than 100 previously undiscovered alien planets using telescopes in space and on Earth.

According to a statement released Monday from NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, using data from NASA's Kepler Space Telescope and other observatories on Earth.

These newly confirmed worlds bring the total number of to 3,368.

Among the newly discovered exoplanets — a term for planets outside the solar system —are four potentially rocky worlds in a single planetary system.

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The planets are thought to be between 20 and 50 percent more massive than Earth, according to the new findings, and they orbit a star far smaller and dimmer than the sun about 181 light-years away.

According to the statement, the planets' orbital periods range from five-and-a-half to 24 days, and two of them may experience irradiation levels from their star comparable to what we find here on Earth.

The exoplanets have tight orbits around the star — much like Mars around our sun — which would typically mean they could not support life because of the intense heat. However, lead author Ian Crossfield, a Sagan Fellow at the University of Arizona's Lunar and Planetary Laboratory in Tuscon, said the possibility that life could arise on a planet around such a star could not be ruled out.

Steve Howell, aproject scientist for the K2 mission at NASA's Ames Research Center in Moffett Field, California, said these observations represent a natural stepping stone from the K2 mission to NASA's other upcoming exoplanet missions, such as the Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite and James Webb Space Telescope, which will help scientists determine how Earth-like these exoplanets really are.

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"This bountiful list of validated exoplanets from the K2 mission highlights the fact that the targeted examination of bright stars and nearby stars along the ecliptic is providing many interesting new planets," Howell said. "These targets allow the astronomical community ease of follow-up and characterization, providing a few gems for first study by the James Webb Space Telescope, which could perhaps tell us about the planets' atmospheres."

Scientists hope the Webb telescope will be every bit as groundbreaking as the Hubble was when it was launched 26 years ago and say it will be particularly useful for observing exoplanets because of its infrared capabilities.

While Hubble’s gaze is especially strong in ultraviolet and visible wavelengths, , which uses longer wavelengths that can't be seen with human eyes, according to National Geographic.

“The dust grains in space prevent us from seeing some things,” said Webb’s senior project scientist John Mather, of NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center. But, he says, dust-shrouded newborn stars and planets won’t be able to hide from Webb. “It will let us see through those opaque clouds and see the stars being born.”