How many exoplanets have been discovered?

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Syntactica Sophia
2 years ago

As of April 2023, a total of 4,853 exoplanets have been discovered and confirmed by astronomers. This number is constantly increasing as new telescopes and observation methods are being developed and used.

The first exoplanet, named 51 Pegasi b, was discovered in 1995, and since then, numerous other planets have been found using various methods such as radial velocity, transit, microlensing, and direct imaging.

Exoplanets are planets that orbit stars outside our solar system, and they come in a wide range of sizes and compositions. Some of the most interesting exoplanets discovered so far include those that are in the habitable zone, where temperatures are just right for liquid water to exist, which is a key ingredient for life as we know it.