{"id":35544,"date":"2023-02-22T09:00:16","date_gmt":"2023-02-22T09:00:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/entropymag.co\/?p=34516"},"modified":"2024-01-10T20:25:37","modified_gmt":"2024-01-10T14:55:37","slug":"exoplanets-world-beyond-our-solar-system-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/entropymag.co\/exoplanets-world-beyond-our-solar-system-2\/","title":{"rendered":"Exoplanets: World Beyond Our Solar System"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
Outer space has intrigued astronomers and scientists for decades. However, a subject that has particularly garnered attention is exoplanets. Exoplanets can be defined as any planet beyond our solar system. These include both planets that orbit other stars, as well as other free-floating exoplanets, called rogue planets (read our guide to rogue planets<\/a>), that orbit a galactic center and are not tethered to any star. <\/p>\n\n\n\n This exoplanet definition encompasses planets of varying compositions, shapes and sizes. While some exoplanets are icy, some others can be rocky. <\/p>\n\n\n\n In the debate of planet vs exoplanet, the key differentiating factor is the star around which these bodies orbit. We can find analogies between planets and exoplanets, however, the central star and the celestial system pivotal to these bodies distinguishes them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The first exoplanet discovered by researchers was in the early 1990s, which set off interest in them and led to advancements in the study and discovery of more of these worlds beyond our solar system. On 9 January 1992, radio astronomers Aleksander Wolszczan and Dale Frail <\/a>spoke about the two exoplanets discovered by them, orbiting the pulsar PSR 1257+12. This discovery, considered to be the first definitive detection of exoplanets, was later confirmed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Exoplanets can rarely be discovered using the conventional direct imaging where astronomers look for exoplanets, like other planets through their telescopes. Only the young gas giant planets orbiting very far from their stars can be discovered using this technique. Over the last few decades, there have been improvements made to the number and the observing power of the telescopes launched into space. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Most of the other exoplanets are now discovered using indirect methods. These include measuring the dimming of a star that happens to have a planet pass in front of it, called the transit method, or monitoring the spectrum of a star for the indicative signs of a planet pulling on its star and causing its light to subtly Doppler shift. <\/p>\n\n\n\n A lot of exoplanets have been discovered by observing \u201ctransits,\u201d i.e. the slight dimming of light from a star when a tiny planet passes between it and our telescopes. Some other observation methods include gravitational lensing, all called the \u201cwobble method.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n These methods, when used in a combination, can help researchers study the statistics of a planet system without imaging the planets themselves. One such planet system discovered using a combination of methods is TRAPPIST-1<\/a> which is around 40 light years away and has seven roughly Earth-sized planets orbiting a small, red star. This planetary system has been studied using both ground and space telescopes and researchers have learnt about the diameters and the mass of the planets using the gravitational pull between the planets. <\/p>\n\n\n\n In the last few decades, most of the thousands of exoplanets discovered have been found using NASA’s Kepler Space Telescope. <\/p>\n\n\n\nThe Discovery of Exoplanets<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Exoplanets Discovered using NASA\u2019s Kepler Space Telescope<\/h2>\n\n\n\n