The planet-hunter’s toolbox

Here are some of the tools that a planet-hunter needs:

• They first of all need a common language in the form of mathematical notations and units. .
• To venture outside the Solar System, you have to understand the laws of the Universe: The states of matter , the force at play, including Gravity , how a planet/star is formed , why it shines like a black body (yes really!), in which atoms and molecules are hidden or reveal themselves.
• An understanding of celestial mechanics , resulting from gravitational forces and extensively studied in the Solar System, is useful because the same rules apply to exoplanets.
• Finally, we need to use indirect methods because extrasolar planets are often masked by their star, which are far larger and brighter than they are. Two of these methods are called barycentre and Doppler effect .