Exoplanets

Exoplanet's: Worlds Beyond Our Solar System

Exoplanets are planets that lie outside of our solar system and revolve around a different star (Gammon). There have been many exoplanets discovered over the years but it seems that we're just entering the Golden Age of discovering exoplanets. Every month, more and more exoplanets are being discovered. The hope is, and has always been, that scientists will discover an exoplanet similar or identical to Earth, with the hope that there may be life on such a planet.

This article goes through the history of the hunt for exoplanets and describes what kinds of tools astronomers have used to discover them. Additionally, the article discusses new exoplanet findings with exciting results! Apparently, many planets have already been found within the 'habitable zone' (the area around a star where liquid water can exist). While none of the planets discovered so far have been Earth-like, there are still 54 more planets to take a closer look at (Gammon).

View the article here.

Reference
Gammon, K. (n.d.). Exoplanets: Worlds beyond our solar system. Retrieved from http://www.space.com/17738-exoplanets.html