What term describes planets that orbit stars outside our solar system?

What term describes planets that orbit stars outside our solar system?

• A. Moons
• B. Asteroids
• C. Exoplanets
• D. Dwarf planets

Answer: (C)

Exoplanets are planets that orbit stars outside our solar system. The prefix “exo-” means outside, so exoplanets are worlds bound to distant stars beyond the Sun. They’re found using methods like the transit technique, which detects tiny dips in a star’s brightness when a planet passes in front, or the radial velocity method, which senses the star’s slight wobble due to a planet’s gravity. Moons orbit planets, not stars, so they aren’t planets around other stars. Asteroids are small rocky bodies—mostly in our own solar system—rather than planets. Dwarf planets are sizable Sun-orbiting bodies that don’t clear their orbital neighborhood, and they’re also inside our solar system. For planets orbiting stars far away, the correct term is exoplanets.

Exoplanets are planets that orbit stars outside our solar system. The prefix “exo-” means outside, so exoplanets are worlds bound to distant stars beyond the Sun. They’re found using methods like the transit technique, which detects tiny dips in a star’s brightness when a planet passes in front, or the radial velocity method, which senses the star’s slight wobble due to a planet’s gravity.

Moons orbit planets, not stars, so they aren’t planets around other stars. Asteroids are small rocky bodies—mostly in our own solar system—rather than planets. Dwarf planets are sizable Sun-orbiting bodies that don’t clear their orbital neighborhood, and they’re also inside our solar system. For planets orbiting stars far away, the correct term is exoplanets.