Probability of Detecting Transiting Extrasolar Planets

Hubble Exoplanet Search Field in Sagittarius

This is an image of one-half of the Hubble Space Telescope field of view in the Sagittarius Window Eclipsing Extrasolar Planet Search (SWEEPS). The field contains approximately 150,000 stars, down to 30th magnitude. The stars in the Galactic disk and bulge have a mixture of...

SWEEPS ACS/WFC Color Composite

Color composite of ACS/WFC images (V and I band filters) showing one-half of the Hubble Space Telescope field of view in the Sagittarius Window Eclipsing Extrasolar Planet Search (SWEEPS). The stars in the Galactic disk and bulge have a mixture of colors and masses. The field is...

Detail of SWEEPS ACS/WFC Color Composite

ACS/WFC color composite detail of Sagittarius Window Eclipsing Extrasolar Planet Search (SWEEPS). In this field resides star SWEEPS-04, a host star of an extrasolar planet confirmed by radial velocity observations.

Artist's Impression of a Transiting Exoplanet

This is an artist's impression of a Jupiter-sized planet passing in front of its parent star. Such events are called transits. When the planet transits the star, the star's apparent brightness drops by a few percent for a short period. Through this technique, astronomers can use...

Artist's Impression of an Ultra-Short-Period Planet

This is an artist's impression of a unique type of exoplanet discovered with the Hubble Space Telescope. The planet is so close it to its star that it completes an orbit in 10.5 hours. The planet is only 750,000 miles from the star, or 1/130th the distance between Earth and the...

Hubble Detects a Transiting Planet

SWEEPS 16 Extrasolar Planet Candidates

DSS 1 Degree Color Composite with Outline of SWEEPS ACS Field

Sagittarius Area with Location of SWEEPS

NASA Science Update: NASA's Hubble Discovers Extrasolar Planets Across Our Galaxy

NASA hosts a science update at 1 p.m. EDT, Wednesday, Oct. 4, to discuss a Hubble Space Telescope discovery of extrasolar planet candidates orbiting a variety of distant stars. Panelists: – Jennifer Wiseman, Hubble program scientist, NASA Headquarters – Kailash Sahu,...

Orbit of Planet with Background

Animation of a transiting planet around its star, set within a tapestry of stars. This bird's-eye view of the orbiting planet and its orbital path moves down to view the orbit in front of the star.

Zoom into SWEEPS Image

Zoom into the Sagittarius area of the nighttime sky, where Hubble looked into our Milky Way galaxy for extrasolar planets. The camera then zooms all the way into our galaxy's central bulge, where the view dissolves into an artist's interpretation of one of the orbiting planet...

Transiting Planet Loop Animation

Animation of the transiting planet's effect on a star's light curve. One of the techniques astronomers use to find transiting planets is monitoring how light from a star dims as a planet crosses in front of it.