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In a very few recent cases we have directly observed the planets. Most exoplanets (planets orbiting other stars) are detected through periodic wobbles in the light of the star as the planet makes its way around.

That may change this month with the launch of the Kepler satellite later today. The third way to detect planets is by their transits. If the distant planet crosses in front of the star and us, the star light dims in a characteristic manner. Kepler will observe thousands and thousands of stars for transits.

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16y ago

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