During that time, he held a number of junior minister's posts in John Major's government, including a spell under William Hague at the Welsh Office.

BBC: Cardiff North Conservative MP Jonathan Evans to step down

"We are starting to see a whole new type of planetary system, which is unlike anything in our own solar system, " said astronomer William Welsh at San Diego State University, who presented the Kepler findings Wednesday at a meeting of the American Astronomical Society in Austin, Texas.

WSJ: Galaxy Hosts 100 Billion Planets, in New Estimate

Amongs the Cardiff-based sponsors who helped the expedition were ship owners Daniel Radcliffe and William Tatem, and James Howell of the Cardiff department store Howells who provided a Welsh flag which flew from the Terra Nova on her long journey south.

BBC: Cardiff's role in Captain Scott's trip to South Pole