Strange new worlds: 51 Pegasi b and the search for ‘exoplanets’
Tue., Oct. 6, 2020
On this date 25 years ago, the first exoplanet – meaning a planet observed outside our solar system, orbiting a different star from our own – was discovered by Swiss astronomers Michael Mayor and Didier Queloz. Their discovery opened up an entirely new field of study for skywatchers: The hunt for new planets.