NASA explains how it knows so much about alien planets How do - TopicsExpress

NASA explains how it knows so much about alien planets How do you understand something you can barely see, never visited and is light years away from us? By being really, really smart at connecting dots. In this video, NASA explains its process in figuring out what alien planets are like with the limited information it has. Its like being able to create a clear picture just from describing the scene. Well, if that scene description was light years beyond us, of course. NASA writes about how it is able to determine an exoplanets size, composition and atmospheric make up: By observing periodic variations in the parent stars brightness and color, astronomers can indirectly determine an exoplanets distance from its star, its size, and its mass. But to truly understand an exoplanet astronomers must study its atmosphere, and they do so by splitting apart the parent stars light during a planetary transit Its pretty incredible how NASA can figure that all out with just a few basic concepts.