extrasolar planet
Americannoun
plural
extrasolar planets-
A planet that orbits a star other than the Sun. The first such planet to be discovered, in 1991, was found orbiting a pulsar, although most of the more than 100 extrasolar planets that have since been identified orbit normal stars. Many of them, known as hot Jupiters, are very large and revolve around their star in extremely close orbits, at less than the distance of Mercury's orbit around the Sun. Other Jupiter-sized and larger planets have been found in highly eccentric orbits. Evidence suggests that extrasolar planets may be relatively common throughout the universe. In 2004, astronomers located the first extrasolar planet with an atmosphere containing oxygen and carbon. The planet, HD 209458b (also called Osiris), orbits a star 150 light-years from Earth. The apparent lack of terrestrial, Earth-sized planets among those that have so far been discovered may simply be the result of the much greater difficulty in identifying smaller, less massive bodies at such great distances.
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Also called exoplanet
Other Word Forms
- extrasolar planetary adjective
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
"Fomalhaut cs2 looks exactly like an extrasolar planet reflecting starlight," Kalas said.
From Science Daily • Jan. 1, 2026
It was the site from which astronomers sent an interstellar radio message in 1974, in case any extraterrestrials might hear it, and where the first known extrasolar planet was discovered, in 1992.
From Scientific American • Nov. 19, 2020
In 1995, Mayor and his then-student Queloz made the first discovery of an extrasolar planet orbiting a Sun-like star.
From Nature • Oct. 8, 2019
Keck was to have studied the extrasolar planet at the same time as the Hubble Space Telescope and a telescope on board the International Space Station.
From Washington Times • Aug. 10, 2019
Only 4.3 light-years away, Proxima b is tantalizingly close by—as close to us as any extrasolar planet is ever likely to be.
From The New Yorker • Aug. 24, 2016
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
