Which term refers to planets that orbit stars other than our Sun, with examples such as Poltergeist and Phobetor among the first confirmed exoplanets?

Which term refers to planets that orbit stars other than our Sun, with examples such as Poltergeist and Phobetor among the first confirmed exoplanets?

• A. Planetary systems
• B. Giant planets
• C. Exoplanets
• D. Asteroids

Answer: (C)

Planets that orbit stars other than our Sun are called exoplanets. This name specifically marks worlds outside our solar system, which is exactly what the question points to with examples like Poltergeist and Phobetor—the first confirmed exoplanets discovered around the pulsar PSR B1257+12. That shows planets can exist around stars that aren’t like our Sun. The other terms describe broader or different ideas: a planetary system is the arrangement of planets around a star, giant planets refer to a size class of large planets, and asteroids are small rocky bodies, not full-fledged planets. So exoplanets is the correct label for these distant worlds beyond our solar system.

Planets that orbit stars other than our Sun are called exoplanets. This name specifically marks worlds outside our solar system, which is exactly what the question points to with examples like Poltergeist and Phobetor—the first confirmed exoplanets discovered around the pulsar PSR B1257+12. That shows planets can exist around stars that aren’t like our Sun. The other terms describe broader or different ideas: a planetary system is the arrangement of planets around a star, giant planets refer to a size class of large planets, and asteroids are small rocky bodies, not full-fledged planets. So exoplanets is the correct label for these distant worlds beyond our solar system.