Discovering and studying planets that orbit stars other than our sun have become one of the most active areas of astronomy in the past decades. When Spitzer launched in 2003 this was not one of its intended science objectives, but innovations by astronomers and engineers during its mission improved its precision and enabled it to become a critical tool for exoplanet work.

Spitzer was the first to measure how much light was emitted by exoplanets closely orbiting their stars, and has played a key role in discovering and measuring the properties of everything from planets larger than Jupiter to small rocky worlds that may be similar to Earth.

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