1Which of the following is a major reason why it so difficult to obtain direct images of extrasolar planets?
The light of the planets is overwhelmed by the light from their star.
2What is an extrasolar planet?
A planet that orbits a star that is not our own Sun
3The first confirmed detections of extrasolar planets occurred in ____________.
the 90s
4what makes it possible to learn of the existence of a planets without seeing the planets themselves?
Planets exert gravitational tugs on their stars that cause stars to orbit around the center of mass of their planetary systems.
5The astrometric method looks for planets with careful measurements of a star's _________.
position in the sky
6The transit method searches for extrasolar planets by ____________.
observing Doppler shifts in a star’s spectrum caused by an unseen planet
7If we use the Doppler method to measure the period with which a star alternately moves toward and away from us due to an orbiting planet, then we also know the __________?
orbital period of the planet
8Which of the following will allow you to learn something about a transiting planet's atmospheric composition?
Compare spectra obtained before and during an eclipse.
9Suppose we have determined the orbital period of a planet around its star. If we also know the mass of the star, then we can use the planet’s orbital period and the star’s mass to calculate __________.
the planet’s average orbital distance
10What do we mean by a “hot Jupiter”?
a planet that is Jupiter-like in size but orbits very close to its star
11Overall, current data suggest that __________ of stars are orbited by one or more planets.
at least about 70%
12Current evidence suggests that some massive jovian planets orbit at close orbital distances to their stars. How do we think these planets ended up on these close orbits?
These planets migrated inward after being born on orbits much farther from their stars.