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This is a list of extrasolar planets that have been directly observed, sorted by observed separations. This method works best for young planets that emit infrared light and are far from the glare of the star. Currently, this list includes both directly imaged planets and imaged planetary-mass companions (objects that orbit a star but formed through a binary-star-formation process, not a planet-formation process). This list does not include free-floating planetary-mass objects in star-forming regions or young associations, which are also referred to as rogue planets.
Contents
The data given for each planet is taken from the latest published paper on the planet to have that data. In many cases it is not possible to have an exact value, and an estimated range is instead provided. The least massive planet is Fomalhaut b, which has a mass of 2 MJ or less. The coldest and oldest is 59 Virginis b with a mean temperature of 240 °C and age of 100–500 million years. This list includes the four members of the multi-planet system that orbit HR 8799.
Key
Exoplanets have been discovered using several different methods for collecting or combining direct images to isolate planets from the background light of their star. Non-Redundant Aperture Masking Interferometry is a method of combining the views of multiple telescopes into a single image, while the other methods are algorithms for combining multiple direct images taken from the same telescope.
Exoplanets
† There is no consensus whether these companions of stars should be considered sub-brown dwarfs or planets