Mechanical & Aerospace Engineering - Term Paper Example

The discovery of smallest planet, the discovery of earth like planet and some huge planets were explained in this part. The thirst for knowing more about our universe has developed in the minds of the human only after science and technology started to develop rapidly. Earlier, human had very little knowledge about our universe and our planet, but as science started to unveil the mysteries about the universe, one after another, humans started to dream about finding life in other planets also. They started to investigate more about other planets in the solar system and the possibility of life existing there.

But so far, no planets in the solar system appear to be having life forms because of the extreme weather conditions there. The failure to find life forms in the planets of the solar system forced the human to look beyond the boundaries of our solar system in search of life forms which resulted in the discovery of many other planets in the recent times. Planets found outside the solar system is generally termed as Extrasolar planet or exoplanet. As of from now scientists have discovered around 500 such planets outside the solar system with the help of indirect methods such as radial velocity observations and direct methods or direct imaging technologies using powerful telescopes.

The discovered exoplanets were large and small in size compared to the earth. It is scientifically proved that a substantial number of stars may have planetary system like the sun. Exoplanets became a matter of interest in the nineteenth century when the scientists and technologists started their space exploration actively to find extraterrestrial life with the help of powerful telescopes and other modern technological equipments. On September 30 2010, Paul Butler and his colleague Steven Vogt of the University of California at Santa Cruz, “announced the discovery of a rocky planet in another solar system that has the most basic and essential conditions needed to