Exoplanet

High school (ages 12+)
Space & Astronomy

Name:

Date:

Step 1 · Read the article

Open the article and read it at the level above. Then answer the questions below in your own words.

https://smallwhale.org/articles/exoplanet

Write what each word means, using the article.

Do not copy the article. Write two things you learned, the way you would explain them to a friend.

Answers below are taken from the article’s stored facts, so they match what the student read.

1. What is the first confirmed exoplanet (pulsar)?Discovered in 1992 orbiting the pulsar PSR B1257+12
2. What is the first exoplanet orbiting sun-like star?51 Pegasi b, discovered in 1995
3. How do scientists find exoplanets?They use indirect methods like the transit method, where a planet makes a star dim a little, and the radial velocity method, which detects the star's wobble.
4. What are some types of exoplanets?Some exoplanets are hot Jupiters, gas giants that orbit very close to their stars, and super‑Earths or mini‑Neptunes, which are bigger than Earth but smaller than Neptune.

Transit Photometry: Detecting exoplanets by measuring the decrease in a star's brightness as a planet passes in front.
Radial Velocity Method: Detecting exoplanets by measuring the wobble of a star caused by a planet's gravitational pull.
Biosignature: A substance or characteristic that provides evidence of past or present life.
Habitable Zone: The orbital region around a star where conditions might allow liquid water on a planet's surface.