Question

Which of the following surprises emerged from the earliest discoveries of exoplanets?

a) they had random orbital inclinations, relative to our solar system
b) many of them were very similar to Earth
c) most of them could not be seen by direct imaging and had to be detected indirectly
d) many of them were gas giants with orbital periods of days or weeks
e) they tended to have very large orbital semi-major axes

Answer 1

The earliest discoveries of exoplanets revealed several surprises, including random orbital inclinations, indirect detection methods, and the prevalence of gas giants with short orbital periods.

Step-by-step explanation:

Astronomers were surprised by several findings in the earliest discoveries of exoplanets. One surprise was that many exoplanets had random orbital inclinations, meaning their orbits were not in the same plane as our solar system. Another surprise was that most exoplanets could not be seen by direct imaging and had to be detected indirectly. Additionally, many of the early discovered exoplanets were gas giants with short orbital periods of only a few days or weeks. These surprises challenged the previously held expectations of what planetary systems might look like based on our solar system.