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List of exoplanet firsts

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This is a list of exoplanet discoveries that were the first by several criteria, including:

and others.

The First

Title Planet Star Year Notes
First extrasolar planet discovered. PSR B1257+12 B
PSR B1257+12 C 		PSR B1257+12 1992 First exoplanets discovered,[1] first pulsar planets,[1] first super-earths discovered.[1]
  • The planet around Gamma Cephei was already suspected in 1988.
  • HD 114762 b was discovered in 1989, but was not confirmed as a planet before 1996.

By discovery method

First discovery by a method
Title Planet Star Year Notes
First planet discovered via pulsar timing. PSR B1257+12 B
PSR B1257+12 C 		PSR B1257+12 1992 [2]First extrasolar planets discovered,[2] first super-earths.[1]
First planet discovered via radial velocity. 51 Pegasi b 51 Pegasi 1995 [3]
First planet discovered via transit. OGLE-TR-56 b OGLE-TR-56 2002 [4] This was also the second planet detected through transiting,[4] and the then farthest planet known at time of discovery.[4] The first extrasolar planet discovered to be transiting was HD 209458 b, which had already been discovered by the radial velocity method.[4][5]
First planet discovered via gravitational lensing. OGLE-2003-BLG-235L b OGLE-2003-BLG-235L / MOA-2003-BLG-53L 2004 This was discovered independently by the OGLE and MOA teams.[6]
First directly imaged extrasolar planet. (infrared) 2M1207 b 2M1207 2004 May be a sub-brown dwarf instead of a planet, depending on formation mechanism and definitions chosen. If it is a planet, it is the first known planet around a brown dwarf.
First imaged extrasolar planet orbiting a 'normal' star. (infrared) 1RXS J160929.1−210524 b 1RXS J160929.1−210524 2008 [7]
First extrasolar planet directly imaged by visible light Fomalhaut b Fomalhaut 2008 First planet orbiting an ABO star.

By system type

First discovery by system type
Title Planet Star Year Notes
First extrasolar planet discovered in a solitary star system. PSR B1257+12 B
PSR B1257+12 C 		PSR B1257+12 1992 First extrasolar planets discovered[1]
  • HD 114762 b was discovered in 1989, but was not confirmed as a planet before 1996.
First "free-floating" planet discovered [NB 1] S Ori J053810.1-023626
(S Ori 70) 		— 2004 [8] Has a mass of 3 MJupiter, needs confirmation.
First planet discovered in a multiple star system. 55 Cancri b 55 Cancri 1996 55 Cnc has distant red dwarf companion.
First planet discovered in a circumbinary orbit. PSR B1620-26 b PSR B1620-26 1993 Orbits a pulsar and a white dwarf.
First multiple planet extrasolar system discovered. PSR B1257+12 A
PSR B1257+12 B
PSR B1257+12 C 		PSR B1257+12 1992 First pulsar planetary system.
First planet discovered in globular cluster. PSR B1620-26 b PSR B1620-26 1993 Located in Messier 4

By star type

First discovery by star type
Title Planet Star Year Notes
First pulsar planet discovered. PSR B1257+12 B
PSR B1257+12 C 		PSR B1257+12 1992 [1][2]
First known extrasolar planet orbiting a main sequence star. (Sun-like) 51 Pegasi b 51 Pegasi 1995 [1] First hot jupiter.
First known planet orbiting an ABO star. (blue-white star) Fomalhaut b Fomalhaut 2008 First extrasolar planet discovered by visible light image.
First known planet orbiting a red dwarf. Gliese 876 b Gliese 876 1998
First known planet orbiting a giant star. Iota Draconis b Iota Draconis 2002
  • Aldebaran b was announced in 1997, but has not been confirmed.
First known planet orbiting a white dwarf. PSR B1620-26 b PSR B1620-26 1993
  • GD 66 b was announced in 2007, but has not been confirmed
First known planet orbiting a brown dwarf. 2M1207 b 2M1207 2004 May in fact be a sub-brown dwarf instead of a planet, depending on formation mechanism and definitions chosen. First directly imaged planet.
First "free-floating" planet discovered. S Ori J053810.1-023626
(S Ori 70) 		— 2004 Has mass of 3 MJupiter, needs confirmation.
  • Free-floating objects are not usually considered planets.

By planet type

Firsts by planet type
Title Planet Star Year Notes
First hot Jupiter. 51 Pegasi b 51 Pegasi 1995 First planet discovered orbiting a main sequence star.
First extrasolar terrestrial planet orbiting a main sequence star. Mu Arae c Mu Arae 2004 Terrestrial nature of this planet is not confirmed, as no radius measurements are available so the density is unknown. The minimum mass is comparable to that of Uranus in our own solar system, which is not a terrestrial planet. The first extrasolar planet known to have a density compatible with being a rocky planet is CoRoT-7b.
First super-earth discovered[NB 2] PSR B1257+12 B
PSR B1257+12 C 		PSR B1257+12 1992 [1]First planets discovered[1]
First super-earth orbiting a main sequence star.[NB 2] Gliese 876 d Gliese 876 2005 Orbits a red dwarf star.
First icy extrasolar planet orbiting a main sequence star. OGLE-2005-BLG-390Lb OGLE-2005-BLG-390L 2006 Orbits a red dwarf star. The icy nature of this planet is not confirmed, as no radius measurements are available so the density is unknown. The first extrasolar planet known to have a density compatible with being an icy planet is GJ 1214 b, though even for this case there are other possibilities for the composition.
First evaporating planet discovered HD 209458 b HD 209458 1999 [1]First transiting planet.
First ocean planet candidate; also first Goldilocks planet. Gliese 581 d Gliese 581 2007 Orbits a red dwarf star. This planet orbits a little too far from the star, but the greenhouse effect would be enough to make this planet habitable. The other ocean planet candidate GJ 1214 b was detected by transit in which the density was calculated and determined that this planet is an ocean planet.
First "free-floating" planet discovered. S Ori J053810.1-023626
(S Ori 70) 		— 2004 Has mass of 3 MJupiter, needs confirmation.
  • Free-floating objects are not usually considered planets.

Other

Other firsts
Title Planet Star Year Notes
First extrasolar transiting planet. HD 209458 b HD 209458 1999
First multi-planet extrasolar system directly imaged. HR 8799 b
HR 8799 c
HR 8799 d 		HR 8799 2008
First planet discovered with a retrograde orbit. WASP-17b WASP-17 2009 The planet HAT-P-7b was discovered before WASP-17b, but its retrograde nature was announced after that of WASP-17b.
First extrasolar planet with serious potential to support life. Gliese 581 g Gliese 581 2010 This planet may be tidally locked to its parent star, but there could be a habitable band along the terminator.

See also

Notes

  1. ^ Free-floating objects are not usually considered planets
  2. ^ a b The mass range of Super-Earths is disputed

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Space.com, "Out There: A Strange Zoo of Other Worlds", Charles Q. Choi, 14 February 2010 (accessed 2010-10-20)
  2. ^ a b c Space.com, "Earth-Sized Planets Confirmed, But They're Dead Worlds", Robert Roy Britt, 29 May 2003 (accessed 20-10-2010)
  3. ^ Nature, "Extrasolar planets: Light through a gravitational lens", Didier Queloz, 26 January 2006, Vol.439, Issue 7075, pp.400-401, doi:10.1038/439400a, Bibcode:2006Natur.439..400Q
  4. ^ a b c d SpaceDaily.com, "Farthest Known Planet Opens the Door For Finding New Earths", 10 January 2003 (accessed 2010-10-24)
  5. ^ PhysOrg.com, "New Era in Planetary Science", 23 March 2005 (accessed 2010-10-24)
  6. ^ Sky and Telescope, "First Planet Found by Microlensing", Alan M. MacRobert, 16 April 2004 (accessed 2010-10-24)
  7. ^ Exoplanet 'circles normal star', BBC News Online, September 15, 2008
  8. ^ Space.com, "Mysterious Object Might be First Extrasolar Planet Photographed", Robert Roy Britt, 22 May 2002 (accessed 2010-10-24)
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