Exoplanets - what are they?
Exoplanets, short for 'Extra solar planets', are planets that orbit around stars other than our sun. Nearly 2000 exoplanets have been discovered (1969 planets in 1249 planetary systems including 490 multiple planetary systems as of 1 October 2015).
Why can't we detect exoplanets by direct observation - even with telescopes?
The stars exoplanets orbit are much bigger and much brighter than the exoplanets, which are too near and are blurred out by the star's light. We can only detect exoplanets by observing the star's movement and brightness. Direct observation is possible, but it's very rare and only occurs by spotting large rogue planets (planets that float freely through space rather than orbiting a star).
Exoplanets, short for 'Extra solar planets', are planets that orbit around stars other than our sun. Nearly 2000 exoplanets have been discovered (1969 planets in 1249 planetary systems including 490 multiple planetary systems as of 1 October 2015).
Why can't we detect exoplanets by direct observation - even with telescopes?
The stars exoplanets orbit are much bigger and much brighter than the exoplanets, which are too near and are blurred out by the star's light. We can only detect exoplanets by observing the star's movement and brightness. Direct observation is possible, but it's very rare and only occurs by spotting large rogue planets (planets that float freely through space rather than orbiting a star).