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Exoplanet light curve

An exoplanet passes in front of its parent star, then passes behind – creating a "light curve" that can be captured by space telescopes.

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Scientists used the James Webb Space Telescope to observe the exoplanet WASP-18 b and its star before, during and after the planet was eclipsed. 
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An infographic shows how a planet moving in front of a star in transit tells us different things as does the exoplanet traveling behind its star in an eclipse.
Exoplanet Eclipses and Transits for WASP-18 b
Researchers made a brightness map, tracing the glow from hot regions of WASP-18 b as it slipped behind, and reappeared from, its star.
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A wide shot shows the planet WASP-18 b rapidly orbiting its star, WASP-18. Time slows down and the camera zooms in on the planet. The planet starts to slowly move behind its star. An animated plot, displaying the eclipse data, is seen on the right side of the screen. It shows the light dipping as the planet passes behind the star. The planet continues to be eclipsed by its star on the left side of the screen. The planet has now been fully eclipsed by its star.
WASP-18 b: Animation of an Exoplanet Eclipse
The Webb Telescope directly observed water vapor on WASP-18 b, a gas giant exoplanet, in even relatively small amounts in an atmospheric spectrum.
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An infographic headlined, Exoplanet WASP-18 b Atmospheric Spectrum and Detection of Water shows a plot of measured emission from the planet, with water molecules, labeled water features. The vertical axis is relative brightness and the horizontal axis is wavelength in microns and it runs from .8, 1.0, 1.4, 2.0, and 3.0. The plotted data points are higher at the far left, then drops to smaller peaks and dips along the plot.
WASP-18 b Atmospheric Spectrum from James Webb Space Telescope
WASP-18 b is a gas giant exoplanet 10 times more massive than Jupiter that orbits its star in just 23 hours. Researchers used NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope to study the planet as it moved behin...
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An illustration shows a yellow-orange exoplanet in a three-quarter view against the star-smattered black of space. The planet's gaseous atmosphere fades from a very bright dayside to a much dimmer nightside and there are subtle bands going north-south. It is at its brightest to the right of center.
WASP-18 b Illustration
We've wanted to study the TRAPPIST-1 exoplanets with the James Webb Space Telescope since its Christmas Day launch in 2021. We expect to see new science on the planets in the coming year.
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A video of the TRAPPIST-1 planets shows them lined up to the right of the red star. As holiday music starts, the planets begin to drop and bounce off the lyrics as they move across the screen.
Video: O TRAPPIST-1, How Lovely Are Thy Planets
Possible characteristics of clouds in exoplanet atmospheres that could be captured by NASA's James Webb Space Telescope.
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Illustration of cross sections of possible exoplanet atmospheres, showing clouds, structure and composition.
Picturing Exoplanet Clouds
NASA's James Webb Space Telescope will reveal secrets of clouds in the atmospheres of exoplanets – planets beyond our solar system.
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Scientists explain how the James Webb Space Telescope will gather information on clouds in the atmospheres of exoplanets.
Video: Lifting the Veil on Exoplanet Clouds
A transmission spectrum made from a single observation from the Webb Space Telescope reveals atmospheric characteristics of the hot gas giant exoplanet WASP-96 b. 
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Graphic showing atmospheric components of distant gas giant planet.
Exoplanet WASP-96 b Atmospheric Characteristics
El Conjunto de Telescopios Espectroscópicos Nucleares (NuSTAR, por sus siglas en inglés), complementa otras misiones astrofísicas de la NASA que estudian el universo en diversos espectros, mediante...
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El cartel muestra el telescopio espacial NuSTAR en primer plano. En el fondo hay un agujero negro, con un disco de acreción a su alrededor y un chorro que emerge por encima de él. Las estrellas de neutrones en explosión se pueden ver más allá del disco de acreción del agujero negro.
NuSTAR Poster (Spanish)
NASA's Nuclear Spectroscopic Telescope Array, or NuSTAR, explores our universe with its X-ray vision.
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The poster pictures the NuSTAR space telescope in the foreground. In the background is a black hole, with an accretion disk around it and a jet emerging above it. Exploding neutron stars can be seen beyond the black hole’s accretion disk.
Celebrate 10 Years of NuSTAR With a New Poster
On March 21, 2022, the number of known exoplanets passed 5,000 according to the NASA Exoplanet Archive. This animation and sonification tracks humanity's discovery of the planets beyond our solar s...
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Video infographic showing numbers of exoplanet discoveries over time.
Video: 5,000 Exoplanets: Listen to the Sounds of Discovery (NASA Data Sonification)
This 360-degree animation and sonification tracks humanity's discovery of the planets beyond our solar system over time.
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360 infographic video (youtube) showing discoveries over time
5,000 Exoplanets: Listen to the Sounds of Discovery (360 Video)
NASA has confirmed more than 5,000 worlds beyond our solar system during 30 years of exploration. There are billions of exoplanets in our galaxy alone, so many more discoveries await.
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Video that covers how we've reached 5000 confirmed exoplanet discoveries and what the future may hold.
Video: NASA Confirms 5,000 Exoplanets -- and Counting
What do planets outside our solar system, or exoplanets, look like? A variety of possibilities are shown in this illustration. 
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Illustration of exoplanet types
Exoplanet Types - Illustration
The more than 5,000 exoplanets confirmed in our galaxy so far include a variety of types – some that are similar to planets in our solar system, others vastly different.
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Infographic of exoplanet types
5000 Exoplanets Infographic
¿Puedes oír los gritos de este exoplaneta?
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En este póster, un exoplaneta se acerca a su estrella naranja en órbita. Está incómodamente cerca del ardiente resplandor. Su atmósfera brilla y se quema, provocando un tortuoso viaje alrededor de la estrella.
El planeta asado
Can you hear this exoplanet screaming?
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In this poster, an exoplanet approaches its orange star in orbit. It is uncomfortably close to the fiery blaze. Its atmosphere is glowing and roasting, causing a torturous journey around the star.
The Roasted Planet Poster
¡Esta fuerza escalofriante te dejará temblando de terror!​
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Este póster muestra un murciélago verde siniestro que emerge del cosmos, empujando objetos como galaxias y estrellas hacia el vacío del espacio exterior.
Energía oscura
This bone-chilling force will leave you shivering alone in terror!
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This poster pictures an ominous, green bat that emerges from the cosmos, pushing objects like galaxies and stars further apart into the void of outer space.
Dark Energy Poster
El telescopio espacial James Webb de la NASA es una verdadera maravilla tecnológica.
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illustrated poster depicting the James Webb Space Telescope against a colorful geometric background
El Telescopio Espacial James Webb
The James Webb Space Telescope is the world's premier space science observatory. Webb will solve mysteries in our solar system, look beyond to distant worlds around other stars, and probe the myste...
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illustrated poster depicting the James Webb Space Telescope against a colorful geometric background
James Webb Space Telescope Poster
In space for more than 30 years, Hubble truly is NASA’s most versatile, intrepid explorer. It brought the cosmos down to Earth.
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illustration of the Hubble Space Telescope with whimsical galaxies, planets, and stars
Hubble Space Telescope Poster
Lanzado en 1990, el telescopio espacial Hubble es un gran observatorio espacial que ha revolucionado la astronomía.
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illustration of the Hubble Space Telescope with whimsical galaxies, planets, and stars
El Telescopio Espacial Hubble
In this artist's concept, a distant, life-bearing world orbits two stars instead of one, seen from the surface in a pink sky – yet in some ways still might be considered similar to Earth.
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Artist's rendering of exoplanet surface
Marble in the Sky: the Hunt for Another Earth
There are water worlds, lava planets, egg-shaped worlds, planets with multiple suns, and even planets with no sun at all! What can we learn from this weird, wondrous variety?
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There are water worlds, lava planets, egg-shaped worlds, planets with multiple suns, and even planets with no sun at all! What can we learn from all this weird, wondrous variety?
Video: Exoplanets: Weird, Wondrous Worlds

Explore Alien Worlds

Exoplanet Travel Bureau

This set of travel posters envision a day when the creativity of scientists and engineers will allow us to do things we can only dream of now.
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Strange New Worlds

Explore an interactive gallery of some of the most intriguing and exotic planets discovered so far.
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A planetary tour through time. The ancients debated the existence of planets beyond our own; now we know of thousands.

Historic Timeline

A planetary tour through time. The ancients debated the existence of planets beyond our own; now we know of thousands.
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