Exoplanet

space · planets · astronomy

What they are. Exoplanets are worlds that circle stars other than our Sun, far, far away in space. Scientists use powerful telescopes to find them by watching how starlight changes as planets pass in front of their stars.

First discovery. The first confirmed exoplanet was found in 1992 orbiting a pulsar, which is a super dense spinning star. Just three years later in 1995, scientists spotted the first exoplanet around a normal star like our Sun.

How many exist. As of 2026, astronomers have confirmed over 6,300 exoplanets across more than 4,700 different planetary systems. That's amazing progress, since we found zero just 30 years ago!

Planetary neighborhoods. Some exoplanets live alone around their stars, but many are part of systems with multiple planets, just like our Solar System with eight planets. Over 1,000 star systems have been found with more than one exoplanet.

Ancient evidence. Scientists realized in 2016 that someone actually spotted hints of an exoplanet way back in 1917, but nobody understood what they were seeing at the time.