Menu
Donate
SIGN IN
Email
Save
Tweet
Share

Aeon Video has a monthly newsletter!

Get curated editors’ picks, peeks behind the scenes, film recommendations and more.

From zero to 5,000 – music and visuals express 30 years of exoplanet discoveries

Until three decades ago, scientist were unsure if planets – Earth-like and otherwise – were rare in the Universe. But since the first confirmed exoplanets, or planets outside our Solar System, were detected in 1992, it’s become increasingly clear that our universe is teeming, with an estimated average of between one to two planets per star. And, perhaps even more startling, potentially life-bearing planets such as Earth are no great rarity, with a fifth of Sun-like stars estimated to have an Earth-sized planet in their ‘habitable zones’.

This short video from NASA celebrates the discovery of the 5,000th confirmed exoplanet, which occurred on 21 March 2022. Starting with a still shot of our celestial neighbourhood, the video expresses the increasing discovery of exoplanets from 1991 to today. The audiovisualisation progresses year by year, with each new circle in the sky indicating the relative orbit size of every newly discovered planet. Varying colours signify how each planet was discovered, and a musical tone represents the length of the planet’s orbital period around their star. The result is an awe-inspiring glimpse into our corner of the Universe that will surely grow ever more expansive, rich and intricate as NASA’s James Webb Telescope begins to peer further into the cosmos than ever before. You can view this video in 360° here.

25 July 2022
Email
Save
Tweet
Share

Aeon is not-for-profit and free for everyone

Make a donation

Get Aeon straight to your inbox

Join our newsletter
Water worlds | Aeon
Save

video

Space exploration

In the search for life, might alien ocean worlds be a better bet than Earth-like planets?

5 minutes

Our ark | Aeon
Save

video

Thinkers and theories

Is simulation theory a way to shirk responsibility for the world we’ve created?

13 minutes

WoodSwimmer | Aeon
Save

video

Biology

A dazzling slice-by-slice exploration of wood exposes hidden patterns and hues

2 minutes

How to design architecture for wildlife | Aeon
Save

video

Architecture

Modern architecture should embrace – not ignore or repel – the nonhuman world

8 minutes

Three ways to think about free will | Aeon
Save

video

Philosophy of mind

We may never settle the ‘free will’ debate, but tapping into it is still worthwhile

32 minutes

Time travel in Britain’s lost rainforests | Aeon
Save

video

Ecology and environmental sciences

In an ancient English rainforest, John creates charcoal and cultivates growth

12 minutes

Five graphs that changed the world | Aeon
Save

video

Information and communication

Mapping data visualisation’s meteoric rise from Victorian London to today

6 minutes

How Hubble images are made | Aeon
Save

video

Space exploration

What are you really seeing when you see magnificent images of space?

5 minutes

Carl Sagan on Eratosthenes | Aeon
Save

video

History of science

How an ancient polymath first calculated Earth’s size, as told by Carl Sagan

7 minutes