Four exoplanets of the HR 8799 system imaged by the W. M. Keck Observatory over the course of seven years. Motion is interpolated from annual observations.Comparison of the size of exoplanets orbiting Kepler-37 to Mercury, Mars and Earth
An exoplanet or extrasolar planet is a planet outside the Solar System. The first confirmed detection of an exoplanet was in 1992 around a pulsar, and the first detection around a main-sequence star was in 1995. A different planet, first detected in 1988, was confirmed in 2003. In 2016, it was recognized that the first possible evidence of an exoplanet had been noted in 1917. As of 24 April 2025, there are 5,885 confirmed exoplanets in 4,392 planetary systems, with 986 systems having more than one planet.[1][2] In collaboration with ground-based and other space-based observatories the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) is expected to give more insight into exoplanet traits, such as their composition, environmental conditions, and potential for life.[3]
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.[4] In several cases, multiple planets have been observed around a star.[5] About 1 in 5 Sun-like stars[a] are estimated to have an "Earth-sized"[b] planet in the habitable zone.[c][6][7] Assuming there are 200 billion stars in the Milky Way,[d] 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.[8]
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,[9][10][11] about 30 times the mass of Jupiter. However, according to some definitions of a planet (based on the nuclear fusion of deuterium[12]), it is too massive to be a planet and might be a brown dwarf. 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.
The discovery of exoplanets has intensified interest in the search for extraterrestrial life. There is special interest in planets that orbit in a star's habitable zone (sometimes called "goldilocks zone"), where it is possible for liquid water, a prerequisite for life as we know it, to exist on the surface. However, the study of planetary habitability also considers a wide range of other factors in determining the suitability of a planet for hosting life.[16]
Rogue planets are those that are not in planetary systems. Such objects are generally considered in a separate category from planets, especially if they are gas giants, often counted as sub-brown dwarfs.[17] The rogue planets in the Milky Way possibly number in the billions or more.[18][19]
^Cassan, A.; Kubas, D.; Beaulieu, J. -P.; Dominik, M.; Horne, K.; Greenhill, J.; Wambsganss, J.; Menzies, J.; Williams, A.; Jørgensen, U. G.; Udalski, A.; Bennett, D. P.; Albrow, M. D.; Batista, V.; Brillant, S.; Caldwell, J. A. R.; Cole, A.; Coutures, C.; Cook, K. H.; Dieters, S.; Prester, D. D.; Donatowicz, J.; Fouqué, P.; Hill, K.; Kains, N.; Kane, S.; Marquette, J. -B.; Martin, R.; Pollard, K. R.; Sahu, K. C. (11 January 2012). "One or more bound planets per Milky Way star from microlensing observations". Nature. 481 (7380): 167–169. arXiv:1202.0903. Bibcode:2012Natur.481..167C. doi:10.1038/nature10684. PMID22237108. S2CID2614136.
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