Planet

Cosma / Communication / Knowledge / Realm / Physical / Universe / Planetary System / Planet
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Introduction1

ScienceAtNASA (YouTube Channel)
NASA Science (Official Website)

Dictionary

planet : any of the large bodies that revolve around a star — Merriam-Webster   See also   OneLook

Thesaurus

Roget’s II (Thesaurus.com), Merriam-Webster Thesaurus, Visuwords

Encyclopedia

Planet A planet is a large astronomical body that is neither a star nor a stellar remnant. — Wikipedia

Planet (Encyclopædia Britannica)

Planet (COSMOS: The SAO Encyclopedia of Astronomy)

Exoplanet or extrasolar planet is a planet outside the Solar System. The first confirmation of detection occurred in 1992. A different planet, initially detected in 1988, was confirmed in 2003. As of 2022, there are more than 5,000 confirmed exoplanets. — Wikipedia

NASA (YouTube Channel)
NASA (Official Website)

The Discovery of Planets Outside our Solar System (Space and Beyond Box)
Planets of Other Stars (Encyclopædia Britannica)

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Adventures

Explore related posts on Cosma

  • Exoplanet Junket - This week NASA released a new project that they’ve dubbed the Exoplanet Travel Bureau. The core of the project consists of a set of interactive 360° images that show “imagined” surfaces of five exoplanets (TRAPPIST-1e, Kepler-16b, Kepler-186f, PSO J318.5-22 and HD 40307 g). Here are three articles about the experience. This Brilliant Interactive From NASA … Continue reading Exoplanet Junket
  • TRAPPIST-1 - You’ve probably heard that NASA has found a trove of “Earth-like” planets circling the TRAPPIST-1 system roughly 40 light years away, but just in case you haven’t, here’s a short video from NASA/JPL about the discovery. NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory (YouTube Channel) NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory (Official Website) Most entertainingly, here’s a 360° YouTube video … Continue reading TRAPPIST-1

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Inspiration

On June 13, 2019, the number of known exoplanets passed 4000 according to the NASA Exoplanet Archive! This animation celebrates their discoveries in time and converted them into music. A circle appears at the position of each exoplanet as it is discovered with a colour that indicates which method was used to find it. The size of the circle indicates the relative size of the planet’s orbit and the pitch of the note indicates the relative orbital period of the planet. Planets with longer orbital periods (lower orbital frequencies) are heard as low notes and planets with shorter orbital periods (higher orbital frequencies) are heard as higher notes. The volume and intensity of the note depends on how many planets with similar orbital periods were announced at the same time. The discovery of a single planet will be quiet and soft while the discovery of many planets with similar periods is loud and intense. — SYSTEM Sounds

Note: This is a 360° Video — press and hold to explore it!

SYSTEM Sounds (YouTube Channel)

Astronomy Picture of the Day, APOD Videos (YouTube Channel)

One Map, 4,000 Exoplanets (Daisy Hernandez, Popular Mechanics)

Eyes on Exoplanets enables users to zoom in on more than 1000 planets orbiting distant stars. Exoplanets can be filtered by relevant criteria such as Earth-sized, large rocky planets, gas giants, etc. Distances to these planets are expressed in travel time by car, plane, etc. — Eyes on the Exoplanets

JPLPlanetQuest (YouTube Channel)
Exoplanets Exploration (NASA Science, Official Website)

JPLPlanetQuest (YouTube Channel)
Exoplanets Exploration (NASA Science, Official Website)

Eyes on the Exoplanets (NASA’s JPL & Cal Tech)

Exoplanet Travel Bureau provides different ways to explore features of different exoplanets, including:
360-degree visualizations of planets outside our Solar System
Posters with facts about different exoplanets
Coloring pages of the same posters
Background about NASA space telescopes
Information about discovering and studying exoplanets — Exoplanet Travel Bureau (NASA)

Exoplanet Travel Bureau (NASA)

Talks about Planets (TED: Ideas Worth Spreading)
Articles about Planets (Big Think)

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Innovation

Mathematics

The Math Behind Discovering Exoplanets (David Grossman, Popular Mechanics)

Science

Planetary science (or more rarely, planetology) is the scientific study of planets (including Earth), celestial bodies (such as moons, asteroids, comets) and planetary systems (in particular those of the Solar System) and the processes of their formation. It studies objects ranging in size from micrometeoroids to gas giants, aiming to determine their composition, dynamics, formation, interrelations and history. — Wikipedia

Planetary Sciences (NASA JPL)

James Webb Space Telescope (NASA, YouTube Channel)
James Webb Space Telescope (NASA, Official Website)

Planet Formation Videos (ViewSpace, Space Telescope Science Institute)

Planet Formation (Max Planck Institute for Astronomy)

The Universe, Explained (Minute Physics, YouTube Playlist)
Minute Physics (Henry Reich, Official Website)

Detecting Other Worlds: Direct Imaging (ViewSpace, Space Telescope Science Institute)
Detecting Other Worlds: Transiting Exoplanet Interactive (ViewSpace, Space Telescope Science Institute)

Science Education Videos (NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, YouTube Playlist)
NASA Goddard Space Flight Center (Official Website)

Exoplanet Exploration (NASA)
Exoplanets (NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory, YouTube Playlist)
NASA Exoplanet Science Institute (NExScI)

Exoplanet Data Explorer (California & Carnegie Planet Search)
California Planet Survey (California & Carnegie Planet Search)
Lick–Carnegie Exoplanet Survey (Wikipedia)

Exoplanets (SciShow Space, YouTube Playlist)

Exoplanets Videos (ViewSpace, Space Telescope Science Institute)

The Exoplanets Channel (YouTube Channel)
Habitable Exoplanets Catalog (The Exoplanets Channel Official Website)

Naming of Exoplanets (International Astronomical Union)

Exoplanets, Worlds Orbiting Other Stars (Planetary Society)

Extrasolar Planets (Eric Weisstein’s World of Astronomy, Wolfram Research)
Exoplanets (Wolfram Alpha)

Exoplanets Links (California & Carnegie Planet Search)

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Preservation

History

400 Years, 7,500 Words: A History of Planetary Science (Lauren Gold, Cornell Chronicle)

Museum

Exoplanets (National Air and Space Museum)

Archive

Sagan Summer Workshop (YouTube Channel)

NASA Exoplanet Archive (NExScI, Caltech)
NASA Exoplanet Archive (Wikipedia)

Library

DDC: 523.4 Planets (Library Thing)
Subject: Planets (Library Thing)

DDC: 523.24 Exoplanets (Library Thing)
Subject: Exoplanets (Library Thing)

Subject: Planets (Open Library)
Subject: Exoplanets (Open Library)

LCC: QB 361 Planets (Library of Congress)
Subject: Planets (Library of Congress)

LCC: QB 820 Exoplanets (Library of Congress)
Subject: Exoplanets (Library of Congress)

Subject: Planets (WorldCat)
Subject: Exoplanets (WorldCat)

WorldCat, Library of Congress, UPenn Online Books, Open Library

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Participation

ScienceAtNASA (YouTube Channel)
NASA Science (Official Website)

NASA Needs Our Help to Find Exoplanets (Stephanie Mlot, PC Magazine)
Exoplanet Watch (NASA Exoplanet Exploration)

Naming of Exoplanets (International Astronomical Union)

Education

NASA Space Place (YouTube Channel)
NASA Space Place (Official Website)

What is a Planet? (Space Place, NASA)
What Is an Exoplanet? (Space Place, NASA)

Other Solar Systems, Other Earths Interactive (NASA’s Universe of Learning)

Teach with Exoplanets (European Space Agency)

Planets (Science Trek)
Exoplanets (Science Trek)

Planets (Space Scoop)

Planetary Science (National Association of Geoscience Teachers)

The Search for Extrasolar Planets (Introduction to Astronomy, Wolfgang H. Berger, UC San Diego)

Exoplanet Learning Resources (National Air and Space Museum)

Exoplanets (Astronomy Center, ComPADRE)

Exoplanets (CrashCourse, YouTube Video)

MERLOT: Multimedia Educational Resource for Learning and Online Teaching
OER Commons: Open Educational Resources

Course

Physics and Chemistry of Terrestrial Planets (Benjamin Weiss & Leigh Royden, MIT OpenCourseware)

Community

Occupation

Careers in Earth, Atmospheric & Planetary Sciences (Purdue University)

Organization

International Astronomical Union (IAU)
Minor Planet Center (International Astronomical Union)
Division for Planetary Sciences (American Astronomical Society)
Exoplanets Section (British Astronomical Association)
The Planetary Society

News

Plantary Science Journal (American Astronomical Society)

Planet (Nova Research Highlights, American Astronomical Society)
Planet Formation (Nova Research Highlights, American Astronomical Society)
Exoplanets (Nova Research Highlights, American Astronomical Society)

Planetary Science (Nature)

The Planetary Society News
The Planetary Report

Planet (EurekaAlert, AAAS)
Exoplanet (EurekaAlert, AAAS)

Planets (JSTOR)
Exoplanets (JSTOR)

Exoplanets News (NASA)
Exoplanets (Sky & Telescope)
Exoplanets (Astronomy Magazine)

Extrasolar Planets (Science Daily)
Exoplanet (Science News)
Exoplanet (Phys.org)

Government

Planetary Science (United States Geological Survey)

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Expression

AstroCappella (YouTube Channel)
AstroCappella: A Musical Exploration of the Universe (Official Site)
The Chromatics: Full Spectrum A Cappella (Official Site)

A Capella Science (YouTube Channel)
A Capella Science (Official Website)

Recent News from Phys.org …

  • What makes a star a star? A strange...
    on July 2, 2026 at 4:40 pm

    A star called TOI-2155 lies around 1,350 light-years (839 trillion miles) from Earth. It is a little bigger, heavier and hotter than the sun, and it is not particularly interesting or unusual in itself.

  • New star activity catalog could sharpen hunt for...
    on July 1, 2026 at 11:20 pm

    Searching for habitable worlds beyond our solar system involves more than having a planet orbit within its star's habitable zone, the region where temperatures could be just right for liquid water to exist on the surface. On Earth, where water comprises approximately 75% of the planet's surface, life is abundant. But what about the exoplanet's star, specifically its activity and rotation? How could this influence how exoplanets are identified for current and future missions?

  • Nautilus array to track missing exoplanet...
    on July 1, 2026 at 9:20 pm

    Exoplanet atmospheres have become prime targets for astrobiologists in the search for life beyond Earth. This is because exoplanet surfaces can't be directly imaged yet, so astronomers must get creative in how they search for signs of life, also called biosignatures. Presently, powerful ground- and space-based telescopes like the Atacama Large Millimeter Array (ALMA) and NASA's James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) are improving in their ability to observe and analyze exoplanet atmospheres. But how […]

  • TESS just found a planet in a new way—and more...
    on July 1, 2026 at 7:21 pm

    For the first time, NASA's TESS (Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite) mission has identified a planet orbiting a distant star thanks to its warping of space-time. Unlike the star-hugging transiting planets TESS regularly reveals, the newfound microlensing world is a super-Jupiter orbiting far from its host star.

  • Nearby 'Super Earth' may be a better candidate...
    on June 30, 2026 at 5:50 pm

    Using the Hobby-Eberly Telescope at McDonald Observatory, astronomers have taken a closer look at a nearby exoplanet and discovered it may be more Earth-like than previously thought. The planet, known as GJ 3378b, orbits a small, cool star called a red dwarf. Just 25 light-years from Earth in the direction of the northern constellation Camelopardalis, it lies in its star's "habitable zone"—the region where temperatures could allow liquid water to exist—making it a candidate to host life.

returntotop

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Related

Here are links to pages about closely related subjects.

Knowledge Realm

Physical

“Fundamentals”
Law (Constant) Relativity
Force Gravity, Electromagnetism (Light, Color)
Matter (Microscope) Molecule, Atom (Periodic Table), Particle

“Space”
Universe (Astronomical Instrument)
Galaxy Milky Way, Andromeda
Planetary System Star, Brown Dwarf, Planet, Moon

Our Neighborhood
Solar System Sun
Terrestrial Planet Mercury, Venus, Earth (Moon), Mars
Asteroid Belt Ceres, Vesta
Jovian Planet Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune
Trans-Neptunian Object
Kuiper Belt Pluto, Haumea, Makemake
Scattered Disc Eris, Sedna, Planet X
Oort Cloud Etc. Scholz’s Star
Small Body Comet, Centaur, Asteroid

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Notes

1.   The resources on this page are are organized by a classification scheme developed exclusively for Cosma.