The First Confirmed Planets Beyond Our Solar System Were Found in 1992

We did not confirm planets beyond our solar system until 1992, when two were found orbiting a pulsar; the first around a Sun-like star came in 1995.

Astronomy

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For most of human history, planets were known only in our own solar system. That changed in 1992, when astronomers confirmed two planets orbiting a pulsar, the rapidly spinning remains of a dead star. Their discovery established the first confirmed planets beyond our solar system. The finding was unusual because the planets were not orbiting an ordinary star like the Sun. A few years later, in 1995, astronomers confirmed a planet orbiting a Sun-like star. That discovery became especially famous because it showed that planets could exist around normal stars beyond our solar system. The 1992 discovery and the 1995 discovery are therefore both important, but they represent different milestones. Finding these distant worlds is difficult because planets are faint compared with their stars and are usually detected indirectly. Astronomers can look for tiny changes caused by a planet, such as regular changes in a star or pulsar caused by the gravitational pull of an orbiting body. These early discoveries opened the door to modern exoplanet research, which has since revealed thousands of planets with a remarkable range of sizes, orbits, and environments.

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