51 Pegasi b discovered
51 Pegasi b discovered
Overview
In 1995 Michel Mayor and Didier Queloz announced 51 Pegasi b, a Jupiter-mass planet orbiting a sun-like star every 4.2 days — the first exoplanet found around a normal star. Its startling proximity to its star defied formation theories and revealed 'hot Jupiters', forcing a wholesale rethink of how planetary systems assemble. The detection launched the exoplanet revolution that has since catalogued thousands of worlds.