history of the oberservationb of exoplanets
The history with the observation of exoplanets begins with the discovery of 51 Pegasi b. This exoplanet is about half thwe size of Jupiter and it orbits a sun from a distance that is much closer than our Earth to our sun. 51 Pegasi b is not habitable because of a few factors, one it is a gas giant so humans can't even walk on it, it is also too close to it's sun so the planet experience temperatures of up to 2000 dgrees and it also has no magnetic fild so this planet experiences heavy radiation from its sun. the discovery of exoplanets opened the door to the exploration of other exoplanets ouside our own soloar system. Over the course of more than thirty years, astronomers have discovered over 6000 exoplanets. We observe exoplanets primarily with the James Space Telescope. Unlike its predeesscor
Can Exoplanets support human life
The question of exoplanets being able to support human life has been asked since humans have discovered exoplanets. Well technically exoplanets can support human life under VERY specific conditions. One of these many conditions is a magnetic field to proct the planet from radiation. it needs to have a perfect balance of both oxygen and nitrogen as our atmospshere is made of both oxygen and nitrogen. it also needs suitable gravity, Our Earth has a gravity of 9.8m/s/s so an exoplanet would need gravity similar to Earth's, humans can survive up to 4.6 times our own gravity. It also needs liquid water. The planet also need a suitable food source and a proper ecosystem, ecosystems are important because theyt help sustain provide important resources such as food and energy. Ecosystems are also important because an ecosystem acts like a meter that tells you the health of that planet and they also regulate environmental behaviors. Another thing a planet would need is proper placement, our Earth resides within a region called The Goldylocks Zone or simply a habitable zone that allows human life, our sun is roughly 93 million miles away from our Earth so an exoplanet would need to be about that distance from it's sun, depending on the type of star the exoplanet would need to be closer or further. an exoplanet that orbits a red giant that is 500 million miles across would need to be about 800 million miles away. Orbiting a red dwarf the exoplanet would need to be about 70000 miles away to support life. Another thing an exoplanet would need is a substantail spin speed so that the planet would not be too hot on one side and not too cold on the other. Another thing to take into consideration is the stability or the age of the exoplanet's sun, we don't want a sun that might go supernova or collapse into a blackhole in a few thousand years. Another thing a planet would need is the presence of a moon, our moon stablizes our plaet's spin so the exoplanet would need at least one moon. The planet would also need to be a terrestrial planet as humans can't survive on gas giants. Another important thing that an Exoplanet would need is to orbit a sun, this is to keep the planet from drifting off and possibly escaping the solar system. Another thing a planet would need is a suitable mass, any larger than 50 times Earth's mass would be a gas giant and any smaller than 2.7% then the atmosphere would be too weak to support life. The exoplanet also needs to have livible temperatures, humans can survive up to 95 degrees fahrenheight, any hotter then that humans can't survive but any colder and humans would freeze. The exoplanet would also have to have a molten core to maintain internal heat. The exoplanet would also need an ozone layer to protect the planet from harmfull radiation. The planet would have to allow germination or the ability for plants to grow alongside needing carbon dioxide. The planet would also need methane so that humans won't freeze to death. The planet itself would also have to have very low radiation levels. Any chemical issuses that a planet might have has to be minute. The planet would also need to allow evolution and the last thing a planet would need to have is proper weather patterns.
how exoplanets are observed by Telescopes
exoplanets can be observed when a planet in it's orbit bends the light in front of the telescope, giving a visual image of the planet. if it is a terrestrial or rocky world we can see most of it because the light doesn't pass through it unlike a gas giant where most of the light would just pass right through it
difference in data between a planet and a star
There is acutally a difference between the measurement of a planet and a star. on a data sheet of a light curve a planet would have divets in the line and this is because planets reflect light now a star is a little different on a light curve data sheet the line will remain straight or relatively straight and this is because that unlike planets, stars don't reflect light because they are their own light source
theories why extraterrastrial life has not been discovered
there are theories and possible reasons as to why we have not discovered extraterrastrial life. for those who have knowledge on some of these theories, one theory immediately springs to mind. this theory is known as The Dark Forest hypothesis, it states that extraterrastrial life does exist but they are hiding, every civilization is like a cautious hunter where even one signal could result in annihilation of the other so in other words humans sending out signals isn't the best idea in the long run.