How the Solar System led planet-hunters astray

How the Solar System led planet-hunters astray

When you look to the glittering points of light in the night sky — the stars visible to the naked eye — do you wonder, as so many have before you, about the planets that orbit around them, and what types of conditions they have on them? How many worlds do they have, and are they rocky, icy, or gas-dominated in nature? What types of elements and chemical compounds are abundant on them, and do they have atmospheres, precipitation, and liquids on o…