Extrasolar Planet

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An Artistic Rendition of an Icy Extrasolar Planet
An Artistic Rendition of an Icy Extrasolar Planet
Extrasolar Planets (a.k.a exoplanets) are planets that have been discovered outside of our local solar system. However, because they are outside our solar system, the IAU hasn't yet decided if they are officially planets or not. If they are actually planets, they might be given names like Vulcan, Altair 4, Rigel 12, etc.

Most extrasolar planets are detected in one of two ways:

1. Doppler Shift: The gravitational attraction between the planet(s) and the parent star causes the parent star to wobble, which can be seen from Earth in its spectrum when it is alternately blue- and red-shifted.

2. Transit Search: If the other solar system is angled edge-on from Earth, then the planet(s) will sometimes transit in front of the parent star, causing its brightness to dim for a bit.

Most planets are detected via the first technique, then followed up with the second technique since it provides more information about the system.

Extrasolar planet discoveries are a hot topic in astronomy right now. Press releases are issued all the time for even the slightest discovery, making it hard to find the wheat from the chaff. The Holy Grail of the exoplanet community is to find an Earth-mass planet orbiting a Sunlike-star at a distance in the habitable zone. Right now we cannot detect such planets, but technological increases are slowly getting us closer each day. A Nobel Prize may be given to the discoverer of such a planet.

You can help discover extrasolar planets and determine the orbital properties of known extrasolar planets by using the Systemic Console from transitsearch.org.


External Links

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