'Somewhere, something incredible is waiting to be known.'

Carl Sagan

Gliese 581 Planets


Gliese 581 Planets

Gliese 581c is one of three planets orbiting the star Gliese 581. This star is part of the Gliese catalog of stars within 81.5 light years of Earth in our local neighborhood. The reason this planet is interesting is because it is in the habitable Goldilocks zone.

Image Credit: Artist's Impression/ESO

HD 189733 b


HD 189733 b

This exoplanet circling star HD 189733 A is worth being listed here for a couple reasons. It was the first exoplanet mapped by the Spitzer Telescope, and it is the first exoplanet found by the Hubble Telescope to contain organic molecules. Although the planet contains water vapor and methane, it is simply too hot to support life.

Image Credit: Artist's Impression/Giovanni Tinetti

51 Pegasi b


51 Pegasi b

In 1995, 51 Pegasi b, nicknamed Bellerophon, was the first exoplanet detected by using the radial velocity method. This planet is a 'hot jupiter' about 150 times the size of Earth with an orbit of only 4 days.

Image Credit: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/User:Debivort

Epsilon Eridani b


Epsilon Eradani b

Only 10.5 light years away, Epsilon Eridani b is the closest neighbor exoplanet to Earth. That makes it the likeliest candidate to see visually within the next few decades as exoplanet research increases.

Image Credit: G. Bacon

OGLE-2005-BLG-390Lb


OGLE-2005-BLG-390Lb

Residing near the center of our Milky Way is a planet similar in terrain to Earth. Although OGLE-2005-BLG-390Lb is likely a terrestial planet, it is too cold to support life with a 10-year orbit that would put it at Mars to Jupiter range. The first part of its name, OGLE, stands for the international Optical Gravitational Lensing Experiment which use gravitational microlensing as a way to piggyback off a star's magnetic field to increase focus.

Image Credit: G. Bacon (STCcI)

Please see the exoscience page for additional information.

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