“Over the last 50 years, as our telescopes have got bigger and better, we have started to learn a little bit about our cosmic neighbors. And astronomers have found a huge array of planets out there, with some startling characteristics, certainly worthy of a mention in an intergalactic version of the Guinness Book of Records. For instance there’s the fastest planet – SWEEPS-10 – which flies around its sun at a distance of just 740,000 miles – about three times the moon’s distance from Earth – meaning a year lasts just 10 hours… With more advanced telescopes reaching out into ever greater expanses of space and picking up new planets every month, the question is: What fantastic discoveries the next fifty year will bring?” w/ photos
