Extrasolar planet: Quick Facts

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Last updated

Nov. 12, 2026

News •

Astronomers Watch Exoplanet’s Transits Vanish for First Time • Nov. 10, 2026, 6:17 PM ET (Sci.News)

Scientists find 'gemstones' in atmosphere of bizarre, scorching-hot 'marshmallow' exoplanet • Oct. 16, 2026, 3:00 AM ET (Space)

Facts

Also Known As	exoplanet

Photos and Videos

extrasolar planet WASP-96b spectrum

artist's conception of Kepler-186f

Explore exoplanets and the techniques used to detect them

Know how astronomers spot extrasolar planets, also called exoplanets

Know about the various methods used to discover numerous exoplanets

Learn how the planets of Trappist-1 were discovered and about their potential for liquid water and life

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Topics

Today in History—July 23: NASA Discovers an Earthlike Planet Super-Earth How will the Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope discover new exoplanets?Planet Rogue planet 9 Ghostly Planets Mars Saturn space debris Planetary ring Venus Jupiter Today in History—March 10: The Day the Planets Aligned—and the World Didn’t End Planet nine

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Star: Binaries and extrasolar planetary systems

Key People

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Didier Queloz

Swiss astronomer

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Michel Mayor

Swiss astronomer

Nicolaus Copernicus. Nicolas Copernicus (1473-1543) Polish astronomer. In 1543 he published, forward proof of a Heliocentric (sun centered) universe. Coloured stipple engraving published London 1802. De revolutionibus orbium coelestium libri vi.

All About Astronomy

Nicolaus Copernicus. Nicolas Copernicus (1473-1543) Polish astronomer. In 1543 he published, forward proof of a Heliocentric (sun centered) universe. Coloured stipple engraving published London 1802. De revolutionibus orbium coelestium libri vi.

All About Astronomy

View of the Andromeda Galaxy (Messier 31, M31).

Astronomy and Space Quiz

Nicolaus Copernicus. Nicolas Copernicus (1473-1543) Polish astronomer. In 1543 he published, forward proof of a Heliocentric (sun centered) universe. Coloured stipple engraving published London 1802. De revolutionibus orbium coelestium libri vi.

All About Astronomy

The orbits of the planets and other elements of the solar system, including asteroids, Kuiper belt, Oort cloud, comet

Space Odyssey

1 July 2002: The Solar and Heliospheric Observatory (SOHO) satellite reveals a massive solar eruption more than 30 times the Earth's diameter. The eruption formed when a loop of a magnetic field over the surface of the Sun trapped hot gas.

Brightest Star in the Solar System

This artist's concept illustrates Kepler-16b, the first planet known to definitively orbit two stars -- what's called a circumbinary planet. The planet, which can be seen in the foreground, was discovered by NASA's Kepler mission. The two orbiting stars r

Extrasolar Planets