"The first confirmation of the detection occurred in 1992."
The study of planets outside our solar system, including detection methods, planetary properties, and the search for habitable planets.
Kepler Mission: Kepler is a space observatory that was launched by NASA to discover Earth-sized exoplanets orbiting other stars in our galaxy. This topic covers the history and methodology behind the mission, as well as the discoveries it has made.
Transit Method: The transit method is the most commonly used technique to detect exoplanets. It involves observing the light of a star to see if it dims periodically, indicating the presence of a planet passing in front of it. This topic covers the mechanics of the transit method and how it is used to detect exoplanets.
Radial Velocity Method: The radial velocity method is another technique used to detect exoplanets that involves measuring the changes in a star's radial velocity caused by the gravitational pull of an orbiting planet. This topic covers the mechanics of the radial velocity method and how it is used to detect exoplanets.
Direct Imaging: Direct imaging involves taking pictures of exoplanets themselves, rather than just observing the effects they have on their host star. This topic covers the challenges associated with direct imaging and the current state of the technology.
Planetary Formation: Planetary formation is the process by which planets are born from the dust and gas surrounding a young star. This topic covers the different theories of planetary formation and the factors that influence it.
Habitability: Habitability is the suitability of a planet to support life, based on a number of different factors such as its distance from its host star, the composition of its atmosphere, and the presence of liquid water. This topic covers the search for habitable exoplanets and the factors that make a planet habitable.
Exoplanet Atmospheres: Exoplanet atmospheres play a crucial role in determining whether a planet is habitable or not. This topic covers the different methods used to study exoplanet atmospheres and what they can tell us about the planets themselves.
Exoplanet Habitability Zones: The habitable zone is the region around a star where the temperature is just right to allow for liquid water to exist on the surface of a planet. This topic covers the different models of habitable zones and how they are determined.
Exoplanet Statistics: Understanding the statistics of exoplanets is crucial in order to make accurate predictions and generalizations about the properties of exoplanets as a population. This topic covers the current state of our knowledge of exoplanet statistics, including their distribution, size, and composition.
Exoplanet Characterization: Characterizing exoplanets involves gathering data about their physical properties, such as their mass, radius, and atmospheric composition. This topic covers the different techniques used for exoplanet characterization and what they can tell us about the nature of exoplanets.
Hot Jupiters: Gas giant planets that orbit very close to their star, resulting in very high temperatures.
Super-Earths: Rocky or icy planets that are larger than Earth but smaller than gas giants like Neptune.
Mini-Neptunes: Planets that are similar in composition to Neptune but smaller in size.
Gas dwarfs: Planets that are larger than Earth but smaller than Neptune or Uranus and are composed mostly of hydrogen and helium.
Water worlds: Planets that are mostly covered by oceans and have rocky cores at their center.
Rogue planets: Planets that do not orbit any star and wander through space.
Exomoons: Moons that orbit exoplanets, which themselves orbit a star.
Diamond planets: Planets that have a composition of carbon and oxygen, and are believed to be made largely of diamond.
Pulsar planets: Planets that orbit a pulsar, a rapidly rotating, highly magnetized neutron star.
Eccentric planets: Planets that have highly elliptical orbits, resulting in extreme temperature changes throughout their year.
Tatooine planets: Planets that orbit two stars.
Lava planets: Planets that have a molten surface and may be covered in lava flows and volcanic activity.
Mini-Saturns: Gas giant planets that are similar in size and composition to Saturn but are smaller.
Iron planets: Planets that have a large iron core and little to no atmosphere.
CoRoT planets: Planets that were discovered by the CoRoT satellite, a French Space Agency mission that searched for planets around other stars.
Kepler planets: Planets that were discovered by NASA's Kepler space telescope, which monitored the brightness of stars to detect the presence of planets.
Super-Jupiters: Gas giant planets that are larger than Jupiter.
Hot Neptunes: Gas giant planets that orbit close to their star and have temperatures similar to hot Jupiters.
Earth-like planets: Planets that have a similar composition and size to Earth, and are potentially capable of supporting life.
Mega-Earths: Planets that are larger than Earth but still rocky in composition.
"As of 1 September 2023, there are 5,506 confirmed exoplanets."
"with 878 systems having more than one planet."
"The James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) is expected to discover more exoplanets, and also much more about exoplanets, including composition, environmental conditions, and potential for life."
"Transit photometry and Doppler spectroscopy have found the most."
"85% of the exoplanets detected are inside the tidal locking zone."
"About 1 in 5 Sun-like stars have an 'Earth-sized' planet in the habitable zone."
"...it can be hypothesized that there are 11 billion potentially habitable Earth-sized planets in the Milky Way, rising to 40 billion if planets orbiting the numerous red dwarfs are included."
"The least massive exoplanet known is Draugr, which is about twice the mass of the Moon."
"The most massive exoplanet listed on the NASA Exoplanet Archive is HR 2562 b, about 30 times the mass of Jupiter."
"Known orbital times for exoplanets vary from less than an hour (for those closest to their star) to thousands of years."
"However, there is evidence that extragalactic planets, exoplanets farther away in galaxies beyond the local Milky Way galaxy, may exist."
"The nearest exoplanets are located 4.2 light-years (1.3 parsecs) from Earth and orbit Proxima Centauri, the closest star to the Sun."
"The discovery of exoplanets has intensified interest in the search for extraterrestrial life."
"There is special interest in planets that orbit in a star's habitable zone (or sometimes called 'goldilocks zone'), where it is possible for liquid water, a prerequisite for life as we know it, to exist on the surface."
"Rogue planets are those that do not orbit any star."
"The rogue planets in the Milky Way possibly number in the billions or more."
"However, the study of planetary habitability also considers a wide range of other factors in determining the suitability of a planet for hosting life."
"Transit photometry and Doppler spectroscopy have found the most."
"The first possible evidence of an exoplanet was noted in 1917, but was not recognized as such."