Extrasolar planet
From Wikipedia, a free encyclopedia written in simple English for easy reading.
An extrasolar planet (a.k.a. exoplanet) is a natural planet that exists outside of the Sun's solar system. As of 2006, a confirmed 200+ extrasolar planets have been discovered since 1991.
[edit] Types
Extrasolar planets can range from many different ways compared to our solar system.
- They can be gas giants or rocky planets
- They can orbit several types of stars
- They can be free-floating or orbiting a brown dwarf
- They can support extraterressial life (so far none has been discovered yet)
- They can possibly be dwarf planets, planets smaller and less dense than regular planets
[edit] See also
[edit] External links
- Search projects
- University of California Planet Search Project
- The Geneva Extrasolar Planet Search Programmes
- PlanetQuest distributed computing project
- Resources
- NASA's PlanetQuest
- German Center for Exo-Planet Research Jena/Tautenburg
- Astrophysical Institute & University Observatory Jena (AIU)
- The Extrasolar Planets Encyclopaedia
- Table of known planetary systems
- Extrasolar Planet XML Database
- Andrew Collier Cameron, Extrasolar planets, Physics World (January 2001). (See the online version.)
- searchable dynamic database of extrasolar planets and their parent stars
- List of important exoplanets
- Extrasolar Planets - D. Montes, UCM
- Extrasolar Visions
- News
- 6-8 Earth-Mass Planet Discovered orbiting Gliese 876
- Newfound World Shatters Distance Record from space.com
- Oldest Known World from space.com
- Earth Sized Planets Confirmed from space.com
- Sunshade to Look for Distant Life from news.bbc.co.uk
