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EXOPLANETS
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 1992.
 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.
YOUTUBE VIDEO
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yo
XCWRel_Io
Works Cited
 "Exoplanets." Science Online. Facts On File, Inc.
Web. 18 Apr. 2011.
<http://www.fofweb.com/activelink2.asp?ItemID=
WE40&SID=5&iPin=SVR0959&SingleRecord=True
>.
 Pasachoff, Jay M. "Solar system." World Book
Advanced. World Book, 2011. Web. 19 Apr. 2011.
 PlanetQuest: Exoplanet Exploration. Web. 19 Apr.
2011. <http://planetquest.jpl.nasa.gov/>.