How they were found
Science of the search
What we see depends on how we look.
The census, discovery methods, atmospheric capability and future missions are organized into tabs. The final tab separates planetary habitability from technology.
Four readingsCensus · method · future · technology
Use the tabs to change the question without crossing a long page.
Scientific sources →The real census
More worlds. Still few atmospheres.
The catalog grew quickly; characterization did not keep pace. Radius is relatively common. Precise mass and atmosphere remain bottlenecks.
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Habitable does not mean inhabited. A habitable zone is a range of incident energy, not an observation of oceans, oxygen, or life.
6,324 = 100%
Of the 4,720 with a measured radius
Size regimes
551≤ 1.25 R⊕
1,1331.25–2 R⊕
2,0452–6 R⊕
7596–15 R⊕
232> 15 R⊕