🪐 Exoplanets

Worlds beyond our solar system — strange, beautiful, and potentially habitable.

Artist Illustration · NASA / ESA

What Are Exoplanets?

Exoplanets are planets orbiting stars outside our solar system. Thousands have been discovered since the first confirmed detection in 1992 — and we are only just beginning.

How Do We Discover Them?

  • 🔭 Transit Method: Detecting dips in starlight as a planet passes in front.
  • 🎯 Radial Velocity: Measuring the “wobble” of a star due to gravity.
  • 👁 Direct Imaging: Extremely rare — taking actual pictures of exoplanets.
  • 🎇 Gravitational Lensing: Using warped spacetime as a magnifying glass.

Types of Exoplanets

🌍 Earth-like Planets
Rocky worlds in the habitable zone — best candidates for life.
🔥 Hot Jupiters
Giant gas planets orbiting dangerously close to their stars.
❄️ Ice Worlds
Cold, frozen planets orbiting far from their suns.
💀 Rogue Planets
Planets without stars — drifting alone in the darkness.

Notable Exoplanets

🌱 Kepler-452b
Often called “Earth’s cousin.”
🌗 TRAPPIST-1 System
Seven Earth-sized worlds — three in the habitable zone.
🔥 WASP-12b
A planet being slowly torn apart by its star.
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