Two objects changed our universe in 1992.
For the first time, we had concrete evidence of extrasolar planets, or exoplanets, circling an alien star.
The number exploded just over 30 years later. Over 5,000 exoplanets were confirmed this week. Every one of the 5,005 exoplanets documented in the NASA exoplanet archive has its own unique characteristics.
Each and every one of these exoplanets has appeared in peer-reviewed research, and been observed using multiple detection techniques.
There are lots of new instruments that can be used to learn more about these worlds.
Astronomers say that each one of them is a brand-new planet. I get excited about every one because we don't know anything about them.
The first two worlds were 4.3 and 3.9 times the mass of Earth, and they were found around a dead star called a millisecond pulsar.
A third planet, much smaller than Earth, was discovered in 1994. The planets were named Poltergeist, Phobetor, and Draugr.
The discovery suggested that the universe had a lot of things. The dead cores of massive stars that have ejected most of their mass, then collapsed under their own gravity are called pulsas. Their formation process is pretty extreme.
If you can find planets around a star, they have to be everywhere.
There was a catch. The technique used to identify these exoplanets was based on the timing of the star'spulses, which are altered slightly by the influence of the surrounding bodies.
This technique is unsuitable for main-sequence stars that don't have regular millisecond pulsations.
exoplanet science exploded when astronomer William Borucki of NASA pioneered the transit method, which observes faint, regular dips in starlight as an exoplanet passes between us and the host star.
More than 3000 confirmed exoplanets were contributed by the Kepler Space Telescope, with another 3000 candidates waiting in the wings.
The transit method can be used to study the effect exoplanets have on their host stars. A star appears to jiggle slightly on the spot as the objects are in the same center of gravity.
If you know the mass of the star and how bright it is, you can figure out the size of the exoplanet.
This is how we know that there are other planets in the universe that are very different from our own.
exoplanet temperatures can be even hotter than some stars due to the close proximity of hot Jupiters to their stars.
The size and mass of Neptune could potentially make it possible to live on Earth. Super Earths are rocky like Earth but up to a few times the mass.
It is very difficult to study exoplanets directly because they are small, dim, far away, and often very close to a bright star. A lot of worlds are still undiscovered.
We may find a variety of worlds beyond our wackiest dreams in the years ahead, as the thresholds will retreat against the advance of technology and new analysis techniques. We might even find life outside the Solar System.
Borucki says that he gets a real feeling of satisfaction and awe.
We didn't expect this many planetary systems and stars. It is just amazing.
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