Every year new planets are discovered. The discovery of This planet gives us greater enlightenment into the origin and nature of our universe. The planets discovered so far have also helped us to answer a fundamental question that has bothered us for millennia, is there life out there? This list takes a look at the top 10 planets discovered giving a brief explanation of why the discovery is as important as we say.
10.) PSR B1620-26 b
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The discovery of PSR B1620-26 b was made on May 30, 1993. The Methuselah of planets is the oldest planet ever discovered. At 13 billion years old – of all planets discovered – this is the planet that seems closest to the age of the universe, 13.7 billion years old. Found deep within a globular cluster of different stars it remains one of the most amazing planets discoveries to date.
9.) Epsilon Eridani b
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Otherwise just referred to as Epsilon Eridani, this planet or group of planets is the closest to our solar system. Just 10 light-years away from our solar system, Epsilon Eridani was one of the most fascinating planets discovered, has two asteroid belts.
8.) 55 Cancri B
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There are many reasons why the 55 Cancri B was one of the most interesting planets discovered. Firstly, it one of the relatively new planets as it was discovered in April 2006. The fascinating aspect of these planet’s discoveries is that it is a two-star, multiple star solar system. This is the highest number of confirmed planets that are orbiting one star apart from the sun.
7.) V391 Pegasi b
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Discovered in March 2007, the V391 Pegasi b is one of the new planets. It is amongst the interesting planets’ discoveries because of where it orbits. V391 Pegasi b was found orbiting a white dwarf star. The meaning is that it was once swallowed up by the star and survived. This bodes well for the Earth which is likely swallowed up by our sun in 5 billion years time.
6.) µ Arae c
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On 25 August 2004, the first Super-Earth was discovered. The discovery of this rocky exoplanet was one of the key new planets discovered as it led scientists to discover other Earth-like planets outside of our solar system. The discovery of µ Area c is still part of the new planets’ discoveries that made waves at the turn of the century.
5.) COROT-7b
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With the emergence of new planets discoveries bearing semblance to Earth, came greater understanding about our planet. Corot-7b, discovered on 3 February 2009, is one such planet. The uniqueness of these planets discovered was that though it looked much like Earth, Corot-7b comprised of a sea of molten rock, as well as metal, pervading its entire surface. This is due to the planet’s close proximity to its sun. Though this planet has an atmosphere, it is extremely thin with very scarce amounts of water vapor.
4.) 91 Aquarii b
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91 Aquarii b is one of the fascinating new planets discovered simply because it encircles the most suns. A fascinating fact about our universe is that a single star solar system such as ours is actually not as prevalent as we would like to think. Most of the stars we see at night are actually multiple star systems. The 91 Aquarii system actually has 5 stars.
3.) HD 209458 b
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The HD 209458 b was an interesting discovery as it was the first exoplanet in which the atmospheric composition was known, thanks to its perfect alignment with our line of sight. The planet’s atmosphere contains sodium, methane, carbon dioxide, and some water vapor. This planet was also the second planet that has been revealed to possess organic compounds.
2.) Fomalhaut b
Image credit: nature
Of all new planets that have been discovered, the Fomalhaut b remains one of the first two planets which was photographed. This was carried out through huge Earth-based telescopes contained at the William Keck and Gemini observatories as well as the Hubble Space Telescope.
1.) Gliese 581-b
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Gliese 581-b makes the list as one of the top ten planets ever discovered and ranks top partly because of how similar it is to our planet. The Gliese 581-b is startlingly similar to Earth despite being 7-14 times its size. Its orbit is within the habitable zone of its solar system making it capable of containing life. The possibility of intelligent life forms similar to ours is also extremely high.
These are the top 10 planet discovered. Our focus has primarily been on the new planets – discovered within the past two decades – which have greatly improved our understanding of our universe. Should you find our post interesting, do like it. Comments and notes for improvement are also appreciated. Also, endeavor to share.
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