As of late 2016, the number of confirmed exoplanets found was:
A)5, all around stars within 20 light-years of us.
B)42, all much bigger than Jupiter, but orbiting red dwarf stars.
C)a few hundred, orbiting more than 300 stars.
D)a few thousand, mainly around stars smaller and fainter than our Sun.
E)many thousands, around every star we have closely examined to date.

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

As of late 2016, the number of confirmed exoplanets found was a few thousand, mainly around stars smaller and fainter than our Sun. This is because these smaller stars are easier to observe and detect orbiting planets due to their size and the way they affect the star's light. As of late 2016, the number of confirmed exoplanets found was a few thousand, mainly around stars smaller and fainter than our Sun. This is in line with current estimates, which place the number of known exoplanets at over 4,000 as of 2020.

As of Late 2016, the Number of Confirmed Exoplanets Found