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New planets, new solar systems, new potential life?
These are all interesting topics we all probably questioned when we were small children, but have you ever wondered how we actually discover these new planets? On this website, we'll show you the different technologies professional astronomers use to discover to exoplanets, as well as some history and ethics of finding exoplanets! But first... what is planet hunting, why is this important, and how does it work? Let's give you a big picture!
What are exoplanets?
Exoplanets are planets that orbit stars outside of our solar system!
What is planet hunting?
Put simply, planet hunting is the process of searching for new planets mostly outside of our solar system through various technologies, and analyzing data collected by them. Notably, there is an organization named "Planet Hunters", who receive data from sources such as NASA and have scientists from all around the world analyze them to find new planets. Some examples of technologies that are commonly used are the Kepler and TESS telescopes, which are some of the most accurate telescopes in discovering new planets.
There are multiple methods in finding planets, (which can be discovered under the "finding exoplanets" sections), but some of the more commonly used ones are transits and radio velocity to find planets. It might appear unbelievable, but a small wobble in a star could determine whether there is a new undiscovered planet or not!
So why is planet hunting even important?
For the majority of people around the world, the pressing questions of "are we alone in the universe?" and "how big is the universe?" are ones that are often asked but never properly answered. When planet hunters were questioned, they told us that planet hunting brought them a sense of joy, and a thrill with the exploration. The universe is so huge that we aren't even close to learning about all of it. Moreover, with planet hunting, we gain more knowledge and data about our vast universe! We learn about whether there is potential for life on other planets, send robots to explore the different terrains, and look for planets even outside of our solar system.
The more planets we discover, the more we know about our universe, and the closer we get to answer those questions.
What are some types of exoplanets?
Gas giants: These are mainly composed of helium or hydrogen, like Jupiter or Saturn! This means that, unfortunately, we cannot land on them. As well, they have immense amounts of pressure, which would crush us almost immediately!
Neptunian Planets: They are similar in size to Uranus or Neptune, and have hydrogen and helium dominated atmospheres, with their cores being made of rock and heavier metals.
Super Earths: They are more massive than Earth, but also lighter than ice giants like Neptune or Uranus! They can be made of gas, or rock, or both. They can go up to twice the size of Earth, and 10 times it's mass too!
Terrestrial Planets: These are the rocky planets in our atmosphere! Examples are Earth, Mars, Mercury, and Venus. For the ones who aren't in our solar system, those which are between half the size of Earth and twice it's radius are considered terrestrial planets! Those which are rocky, but twice the size of Earth are considered Super Earths!
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