Exoplanet | EPFL Graph Search

Are you an EPFL student looking for a semester project?

Work with us on data science and visualisation projects, and deploy your project as an app on top of GraphSearch.

An exoplanet or extrasolar planet is a planet outside the Solar System. The first possible evidence of an exoplanet was noted in 1917 but was not recognized as such. The first confirmation of detection occurred in 1992. A different planet, initially detected in 1988, was confirmed in 2003. The James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) is expected to discover more exoplanets, and also much more about exoplanets, including composition, environmental conditions and potential for life. There are many methods of detecting exoplanets. Transit photometry and Doppler spectroscopy have found the most, but these methods suffer from a clear observational bias favoring the detection of planets near the star; thus, 85% of the exoplanets detected are inside the tidal locking zone. In several cases, multiple planets have been observed around a star. About 1 in 5 Sun-like stars have an "Earth-sized" planet in the habitable zone. Assuming there are 200 billion stars in the Milky Way, it can be hypothesized that there are 11 billion potentially habitable Earth-sized planets in the Milky Way, rising to 40 billion if planets orbiting the numerous red dwarfs are included. The least massive exoplanet known is Draugr (also known as PSR B1257+12 A or PSR B1257+12 b), which is about twice the mass of the Moon. The most massive exoplanet listed on the NASA Exoplanet Archive is HR 2562 b, about 30 times the mass of Jupiter. However, according to some definitions of a planet (based on the nuclear fusion of deuterium), it is too massive to be a planet and might be a brown dwarf instead. Known orbital times for exoplanets vary from less than an hour (for those closest to their star) to thousands of years. Some exoplanets are so far away from the star that it is difficult to tell whether they are gravitationally bound to it. Almost all of the planets detected so far are within the Milky Way. However, there is evidence that extragalactic planets, exoplanets farther away in galaxies beyond the local Milky Way galaxy, may exist. The nearest exoplanets are located 4.

About this result

This page is automatically generated and may contain information that is not correct, complete, up-to-date, or relevant to your search query. The same applies to every other page on this website. Please make sure to verify the information with EPFL's official sources.

Related publications (1)

Related concepts (240)

Related courses (4)

Related lectures (34)

Related MOOCs (3)

High resolution differential laser interferometry for the VLTI (Very Large Telescope Interferometer)

Olivier Boris Scherler

One method for locating extrasolar planets is to observe the lateral movement of a star in the sky caused by a planet in orbit around it. In order to detect this displacement, the angular position of

Institut de Microtechnique, Université de Neuchâtel2006

PHYS-209: Astrophysics I: introduction to astrophysics

Ce cours décrit de façon simple les processus physiques qui expliquent l'univers dans lequel nous vivons. En couvrant une large gamme de sujets, le but du cours est aussi de donner un aperçu général d

PHYS-643: Astrophysics V : The variable Universe

Introduction to time-variable astrophysical objects and processes, from Space Weather to stars, black holes, and galaxies. Introduction to time-series analysis, instrumentation targeting variability,

AR-481: Architecture in the age of acceleration

This course proposes to investigate six strategies for architecture in the age of acceleration: Regionalism, Territoriality, Participation, Transformation, Commonality and Rationality. Anchoring these

CHEOPS: Exoplanet Characterization Mission

Explores the challenges and unique approach of the CHEOPS mission in characterizing exoplanets with high precision, along with the collaborative efforts and educational initiatives associated with the project.

Exoplanets

Explores the definition, formation, discovery methods, and search for life of exoplanets, including the history of discoveries and the Drake Equation.

Space Mission Design and Operations: JWST

Covers the James Webb Space Telescope, launched in 2021 to study distant objects and exoplanets from a halo orbit around the L2 Lagrange point.

Ce cours décrit les principaux concepts physiques utilisés en astrophysique. Il est proposé à l'EPFL aux étudiants de 2eme année de Bachelor en physique.

Learn about the physical phenomena at play in astronomical objects and link theoretical predictions to observations.

A planet is a large, rounded astronomical body that is neither a star nor its remnant. The best available theory of planet formation is the nebular hypothesis, which posits that an interstellar cloud collapses out of a nebula to create a young protostar orbited by a protoplanetary disk. Planets grow in this disk by the gradual accumulation of material driven by gravity, a process called accretion. The Solar System has at least eight planets: the terrestrial planets Mercury, Venus, Earth and Mars, and the giant planets Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and Neptune.

The Solar System is the gravitationally bound system of the Sun and the objects that orbit it. The largest of such objects are the eight planets, in order from the Sun: four terrestrial planets named Mercury, Venus, Earth and Mars, two gas giants named Jupiter and Saturn, and two ice giants named Uranus and Neptune. The terrestrial planets have a definite surface and are mostly made of rock and metal. The gas giants are mostly made of hydrogen and helium, while the ice giants are mostly made of 'volatile' substances such as water, ammonia, and methane.