Why can we see “earth like” planets that are light years away but still debate how many planets are in our own solar system?
In: Technology
The are two main ways for us to see planets in other systems:
If a plant passes directly between us and it’s start, we can see star getting a little bit dimmer. We can get some information about the planet from how much light the planet blocks.
Second method is to see how much start wobbles as a planet tags on it via gravity while it’s going around the star. Once again we can get some information about the planet from its star’s movement.
Those methods don’t work for very small planets that don’t block enough light for us to detect, and also for planets who’s orbit might be so huge that we cannot see their tag on the star. Same reasons apply to our own system, if planet is very far away from the sun, it will be too dim for us to notice without knowing where to look, and we will not see any gravitational effects from it unless it gets closer.
I have pretty basic knowledge in this field from personal research because I was curious, so I would appreciate if anyone with better understanding would add any corrections or details.
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