Related papers: Quantitative Criteria for Defining Planets
When searching for exoplanets, one wants to count how many planets orbit a given star, and to determine what their characteristics are. If the estimated planet characteristics are too far from those of a planet truly present, this should be…
The known extrasolar multiple-planet systems share a surprising dynamical attribute: they cluster just beyond the Hill stability boundary. Here we show that the planet-planet scattering model, which naturally explains the observed exoplanet…
Thousands of extrasolar planets have been discovered, and it is clear that the galactic planetary census draws on a diversity greatly exceeding that exhibited by the solar system's planets. We review significant landmarks in the chronology…
The majority of star formation results in binaries or higher multiple systems, and planets in such systems are constrained to a limited range of orbital parameters in order to remain stable against perturbations from stellar companions.…
While one of the IAU's missions is to "serve as the internationally recognized authority for assigning designations to celestial bodies and surface features on them", the participation of the public in the naming of celestial objects has…
The study of our Solar System -- its formation, evolution, and long-term stability -- has been ongoing for centuries and is now a standard part of scientific education. While the formation of other Solar-like exoplanetary systems is…
It is a truism within the exoplanet field that "to know the planet, you must know the star." This pertains to the physical properties of the star (i.e. mass, radius, luminosity, age, multiplicity), the activity and magnetic fields, as well…
Many exoplanets are discovered in binary star systems in internal or in circumbinary orbits. Whether the planet can be habitable or not depends on the possibility to maintain liquid water on its surface, and therefore on the luminosity of…
Observational surveys for extrasolar planets probe the diverse outcomes of planet formation and evolution. These surveys measure the frequency of planets with different masses, sizes, orbital characteristics, and host star properties. Small…
Experience shows that celestial bodies have a nearly round shape only from a certain size. At IAU resolution B5, item b, that shape serves as an indicator for a distinct mechanism of its forming, caused by a minimum of mass. Rigid body…
Today, we know ~4330 exoplanets orbiting their host stars in ~3200 planetary systems. The diversity of these exoplanets is large, and none of the known exoplanets is a twin to any of the solar system planets, nor is any of the known…
I begin this review by first defining what is meant by exoplanet demographics, and then motivating why we would like as broad a picture of exoplanet demographics as possible. I then outline the methodology and pitfalls to measuring…
Just fourteen years ago the Solar System represented the only known planetary system in the Galaxy, and conceptions of planet formation were shaped by this sample of one. Since then, 320 planets have been discovered orbiting 276 individual…
We show that stability of planetary systems is intimately connected with their internal order. An arbitrary initial distribution of planets is susceptible to catastrophic events in which planets either collide or are ejected from the…
Terrestrial exoplanets are on the verge of joining the ranks of astronomically accessible objects. Interpreting their observable characteristics, and informing decisions on instrument design and use, will hinge on the ability to model these…
The discovery of habitable exoplanets has long been a heated topic in astronomy. Traditional methods for exoplanet identification include the wobble method, direct imaging, gravitational microlensing, etc., which not only require a…
In this brief communication we provide the rationale for, and the outcome of the International Astronomical Union (IAU) resolution vote at the XXIX-th General Assembly in Honolulu, Hawaii, in 2015, on recommended nominal conversion…
In this study, we introduce a physical framework to analyse and classify the thermal regimes governed by tidal heating and stellar irradiation. Although all planetary systems are exposed to stellar radiation, this source is not always the…
The number of extrasolar planets discovered is increasing, so that more than five thousand exoplanets have been confirmed to date. Now we have an opportunity to test the validity of the laws governing planetary systems and take steps to…
Features in the distribution of exoplanet parameters by period demonstrate that the distribution of planet parameters is rich with information that can provide essential guidance to understanding planet histories. Structure has been found…