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What an excellent question. It appears you already realize that if you are talking about stars other than our sun, you are talking about stars that are many lightyears away from us, and not even powerful telescopes will easily detect planets orbiting around them. One thing that astronomers can sometimes detect is the slight wobble of distant stars as planets orbit around them. You might not realize that suns would move as a result of a planet's orbit. Imagine you and a friend holding on to the ends of a rope. If you begin to move in a circle, you will each feel the centripedal force pushing you outward. Neither of you would be able to stand perfectly still while the other circled with the rope. Another thing that astronomers can detect using very sensitive equipment is the slight reduction in brightness of a star when a planet's orbit brings the planet between us and its star. If this reduction in brightness is regular enough, it may be an indication that there is a planet in orbit.

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16y ago

What else can I help you with?