exoplanet
Exoplanets orbit stars other than the Sun. This topic is part of Astronomy within Science & Nature. This page currently draws on 20 supporting questions, with answers and bonus facts available below.
exoplanet trivia questions
An exoplanet is a planet outside what?
Answer: Solar system
Bonus fact: Exoplanets orbit stars other than the Sun.
Which method detects exoplanets when they pass in front of their stars?
Answer: Transit method
Bonus fact: A transit causes a small dip in the star's brightness.
Which space telescope discovered thousands of exoplanet candidates using transits?
Answer: Kepler
Bonus fact: NASA's Kepler mission transformed exoplanet science.
Which NASA mission found several of the best-known circumbinary exoplanets?
Answer: Kepler
Bonus fact: Kepler detected repeated dimming patterns that revealed planets crossing in front of binary stars.
What does the depth of an exoplanet transit most directly help astronomers estimate?
Answer: The planet's size
Bonus fact: A larger planet blocks a greater fraction of its star's light.
Which space telescope famously used the transit method to discover thousands of exoplanet candidates?
Answer: Kepler
Bonus fact: Kepler continuously monitored large numbers of stars for periodic brightness dips.
HD 209458 b became famous as the first exoplanet observed doing what?
Answer: Transiting its star
Bonus fact: The 1999 transit confirmed that a planet could be detected by the tiny dip it caused in starlight.
WASP-12b is best described as what type of exoplanet?
Answer: Hot Jupiter
Bonus fact: It is a gas giant orbiting extremely close to its star.
WASP-39b became a major target for which space telescope launched in 2021?
Answer: James Webb Space Telescope
Bonus fact: Webb produced one of the most detailed exoplanet atmospheric spectra yet obtained.
Which NASA mission discovered TOI-700 d?
Answer: TESS
Bonus fact: TESS stands for Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite.
The planets around PSR B1257+12 were the first confirmed planets discovered outside what?
Answer: Our Solar System
Bonus fact: Their 1992 discovery established the existence of exoplanets.
Kepler-452b is a planet outside our Solar System, making it what?
Answer: An exoplanet
Bonus fact: It was found by NASA's Kepler mission.