Exoplanets
Planets outside the solar system
Formation of planetary systems - including our own Solar System
A list of the currently known exoplanets
See exoplanets.org for further information.
Also see the Extrasolar Planets Encyclopedia. and Planet Quest at JPL
Space Missons seeking earthlike planets:
The Kepler Mission
The Darwin Mission
The Space Interferometer Mission
The Terrestrial Planet Finder observatories
Feb 3, 2011
"NASA's Kepler mission has found 1,235 potential alien planets, but it will likely be a few years before it finds an alien Earth."
Feb 3, 2011
"NASA released a wealth of new data today (Feb. 2) from its planet-seeking Kepler space telescope, significantly increasing the number of potential new alien planets, and revealing that smaller worlds and multi-planet systems may be more common than previously thought"
Feb 3, 2011
"An intimate portrait of the newly discovered Kepler-11 planetary system -- the most tightly packed planetary system orbiting a single star yet discovered outside of our solar system"
Feb 3, 2011
"Wired.com caught up with astronomer Geoff Marcy at the American Astronomical Society meeting to talk about the early days of the exoplanet hunt, how success can spring from failure and finding the elusive exo-Earth."
Feb 3, 2011
"Among the more than 400 planets found beyond our solar system, there are volcanic Super Earths, gas giants that dwarf Jupiter, and worlds with multiple sunsets."
Feb 2, 2011
"Two nearly simultaneous announcements by scientists that they have detected entire planetary system deep in space have set the astronomical community abuzz."
Feb 1, 2011
"A Q & A with astronomer Geoff Marcy, who has had a hand in discovering more alien planets than anybody else."
Jan 31, 2011
"The team overseeing the satellite observatory Kepler is unveiling a list of 400 stars that are the best bets for harboring planets that could be the most Earth-like worlds discovered."
Jan 26, 2011
"Finding explains why many 'Hot Jupiters' are larger than expected"
Jan 19, 2011
"The first official challenge to the small, hospitable world looks in the exact same data -- and finds no significant sign of the planet."
