Detecting exoplanets used to be so difficult that scientists spotted the first black hole, detected the leftover radiation from the Big Bang and took snapshots of countless distant galaxies before discovering the first planet beyond our solar system in 1992. Plenty of exoplanet astronomers began their careers before the field of exoplanet astronomy even existed.
Now though, astronomers have identified well over 5,000 — and continue to find more (SN: 3/22/22). Given the stream of discoveries, it can be easy to forget how little we still know about these distant worlds. The colorful volcanoes, oceans and cloud-streaked atmospheres that appear in artists’ renditions are speculative fantasies often inspired by the only
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