Beyond Our Solar System:
In 1991, the nine worlds of our own solar system were
the only known planets. Astronomers did not believe that our
Sun's environment was the only planet producer in
the universe. But they had no evidence of planets outside our solar system.
How quickly things change.
In 1991 radio astronomers detected the first extrasolar planets orbiting a dying pulsar star. Although the deadly radiation from the pulsar is not condusive to life, it was the first example of a star other than our Sun producing planets.
Since then more than 100 planets have been found orbiting
other stars. Some of them are orbiting extremely close to
their parent star like the 51 Pegasi planetary system, while others are
found to be at distances comparable to where
Mars and
Jupiter orbit in our
solar system.
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