Hunting for Worlds Beyond: How Do Astronomers Find Exoplanets?

Why is the discovery of planets beyond our solar system—exoplanets—generating so much excitement? Astronomers employ various sophisticated methods to locate these distant worlds. A primary technique is the ‘transit method,’ which detects the slight dimming of a star’s light as a planet passes in front of it. High-precision instruments like the Kepler Space Telescope and the TESS (Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite) are instrumental in capturing these minute changes. Another key method is the ‘radial velocity method,’ which detects subtle shifts in a star’s light wavelength caused by the gravitational tug of an orbiting planet. Advances in these observational technologies have led to the discovery of thousands of exoplanets, fueling the search for potentially habitable Earth-like worlds.

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