Sunday, June 20, 2010

Exoplanet Exploration - PlanetQuest Historic Timeline

Exoplanet Exploration: Planet Quest Key Milestones

• 450 B.C.: Greeks ponder the existence of other worlds
• 1750: Wright describes the Milky Way as a massive disk of stars
• 1992: Woszczan and Frail discover rocky planets
• 1995: Mayor and Queloz find a planet at 51 Pegasi
• 1999: First transiting exoplanet observed
• 2005: Spitzer observed direct light from an exoplanet
• 2008: First visible-light exoplanet images released