NASA's Prolific Planet Hunter: Kepler Telescope By-The-Numbers
NASA's Kepler space observatory has found more than 1,200 potential alien worlds since it began hunting for extrasolar planets in 2009. Full story
500th Alien Planet Discovered, With Hundreds More to Come
The 500th alien world appears to have been discovered, according to extrasolar planet trackers. Full story
500th alien planet discovered
The 500th alien world appears to have been discovered. The milestone was reached Nov. 19, according to the Extrasolar Planets Encyclopedia, a database compiled by astrobiologist Jean Schneider of the Paris-Meudon Observatory. Full story
Doubt cast on existence of possibly habitable alien planet
Last month, astronomers announced the discovery of the first potentially habitable extrasolar planet. But this week at an International Astronomical Union meeting, doubts were raised about the existence of this exciting new planet said to be orbiting the star Gliese 581. Full story
Alien planet's weather forecast: Hot and extra cloudy
Astronomers peering at a large alien planet have found it to be covered by an atmosphere unlike that of any extrasolar planet yet seen. Full story
Backwards alien planets challenge theories
Space.com: Several extrasolar planets have been discovered to be orbiting backwards — that is, they revolve in the opposite direction that their host star rotates — challenging accepted ideas of how planets form, according to the astronomers who made the discovery. Full story
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Extrasolar planet transit
In this artist's conception, a Jupiter-scale extrasolar planet in the foreground passes in front of its sunlike parent star.
Transit
Astronomers can detect an extrasolar planet by watching for the characteristic dimming of a star as the planet's disk passes over, as shown in this graphic.
