title: Light and shadow from distant worlds.
abstract: Exoplanets are distant worlds that orbit stars other than our Sun. More than 370 such planets are known, and a growing fraction of them are discovered because they transit their star as seen from Earth. The special transit geometry enables us to measure masses and radii for dozens of planets, and we have identified gases in the atmospheres of several giant ones. Within the next decade, we expect to find and study a 'habitable' rocky planet transiting a cool red dwarf star close to our Sun. Eventually, we will be able to image the light from an Earth-like world orbiting a nearby solar-type star.
authors.affiliation: Planetary Systems Laboratory, Code 693, NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Maryland 20771, USA. Leo.D.Deming@nasa.gov
authors.forename: Drake
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Deming
authors.forename: Sara
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Seager
mesh_terms: D018559:Exobiology; D008027:Light; D016083:Planets; D013696:Temperature; D014867:Water
chemical_list: D014867:Water