The First Exoplanet Around a Sun-like Star

Overview

Michel Mayor and Didier Queloz, using the ELODIE spectrograph at the Observatoire de Haute-Provence, detected the wobble of the star 51 Pegasi caused by an orbiting giant planet — the first exoplanet found around a normal, Sun-like star.

Why it matters

Opened the field of exoplanet science; recognised with the 2019 Nobel Prize in Physics.

Credit

Objects & facilities

Knowledge connections

Discovered byMichel Mayor
Discovered byDidier Queloz
Part ofContemporary Astronomy
Related to51 Pegasi b
Related toPegasus

Sources & references

Facts on this topic will be cited from these primary and reference sources.

The Nobel PrizeThe Nobel Foundation
Official record of Nobel laureates, prize motivations, and award years.
ESOEuropean Southern Observatory
Southern-hemisphere observatory data and imagery (VLT, ALMA partner).

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