Exoplanets

Planets orbiting stars beyond the Sun; over 5,800 confirmed since the first discovery in 1992.

Core Principles & Analysis

• The first confirmed exoplanets, found in 1992, orbit a pulsar; 51 Pegasi b in 1995 was the first around a Sun-like star.
• NASA's Kepler mission alone confirmed over 2,700 planets, implying planets outnumber stars in the Milky Way.
• In 2022 the James Webb Space Telescope made the first clear detection of carbon dioxide in an exoplanet atmosphere, on WASP-39 b.

Specifications & Metrics

• DETECTION: Transit photometry, radial velocity