Blayne Chang Aaron Fujioka Pd. 3

Exoplanets  “Extra-solar”  A planet that orbits a star other than our sun  Therefore is beyond the solar system with Earth  First one was detected in 1995

Exoplanets  Most exoplanets discovered are gas giants like Jupiter  Orbits are much closer to their stars than Jupiter is to the sun

Detection Methods  Doppler Method  Variations in star’s radial velocity can be detected from displacements in the star’s spectral lines  Most productive method  Applicable to stars with a wide range of characteristics

Detection Methods cont. Transit method If a planet crosses in front of its parent star’s disk, then the observed brightness of the star drops by a small amount The amount as to how much the star dims depends on the size of the planet among others Second most productive method

Detection of Exoplanets  European Space Agency launched the COROT probe in 2006  NASA launched the Kepler mission in 2009  They plan to detect exoplanets as they pass in front of their parent stars

Exoplanets  The oldest one discovered so far is thought to be 13 billions years old  Twice the age of Earth  Existence challenges accepted theories of planet formation  Undermines assumptions about solar system formation

Exoplanets  Dissimilarity between ours and other solar systems may be due to limitations of current methods and technologies  Planets smaller than gas giants cannot be reliably detected

Similar to Earth  Spherical like the Earth due to gravitational force.  Like the Earth, exoplanets do not shine.  Exoplanets are visible because they reflect the light from their host stars as planets are visible because they are illuminated by the sun.

facts  The first exoplanet was discovered in  We currently know of more than 250 exoplanets.  Search missions may be able to detect liquid water and find “Earth” like planets or planets that reside in the habitable zone.

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Works Cited  "Exoplanets." Science Online. Facts On File, Inc. Web. 18 Apr  Pasachoff, Jay M. "Solar system." World Book Advanced. World Book, Web. 19 Apr  PlanetQuest: Exoplanet Exploration. Web. 19 Apr