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exoplanet

exoplanet

13 6.9
A planet like Earth that moves around a star outside our solar system
  • noun
  • /ˈɛksoʊˌplænɪt/
  • Specialized
translation icon : exoplaneta
  • Kepler has found Earth-sized exoplanets (illustration of Kepler-20e, above) and planets with Earth-like orbits.
  • exoplanets found

And of course assessing whether life could exist on that exoplanet or not.

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Examples

  • All the exoplanets discovered thus far by the radial-velocity method are within 100 light-years of us.

    Academic text (2004)
  • Now the catalog of known exoplanets has suddenly become more diverse.

    Academic text (2004)
  • When was the first exoplanet discovered?

  • So I just think that, yeah, I think we're going to blow the doors open on exoplanet research, and it's going to be awesome.

  • Today we'll talk about the possibly first evidence for life on an exoplanet, with some caveats.

  • One of the first exoplanets ever discovered could actually be made of diamond.

    Blog text (4)
  • Kepler-22b, shown in the illustration above, is a recently confirmed exoplanet with an Earth-like orbit.

    Blog text (5)
  • Three teams of planet searchers recently announced the discovery of three exoplanets with masses on the order of Neptune's.

    Academic text (2004)
  • Astronomers have discovered thousands of exoplanets orbiting distant stars in recent years.

  • The study of exoplanets helps us understand the potential for life beyond our solar system.

How Massive

Jupiter
120 2.7
exoplanet
  • Specialized
13 6.9
minor planet
  • Specialized
1 6.4

Surface Forms

exoplanet singular
exoplanets plural

Morphology

exoplanet = planet (semi-transparent) = exo + planet

The meaning is directly built from 'exo-' (outside) + 'planet', but 'exo-' is a technical combining form that many B1 learners may not know.

Etymology

Exoplanet is made from exo- meaning 'outside' and planet, the familiar word for a world that goes around a star. So an exoplanet is simply a planet that is 'outside' our solar system.