Up until the mid-1990s, the only planets whose existence we knew about for certain were those in our own solar system. This narrow worldview was changed forever when the first exoplanets were found orbiting around pulsars - the burnt cinders of exploded, monster stars - swiftly followed by the discovery of gaseous titans in searing proximity to their suns. In the best traditions of exploration, these foreign planets were unlike anything we had previously imagined. The variety of exoplanets bagged since then has only pushed the envelope further. Exoplanets, we have learned, are happy to bask in the simultaneous light of four suns, wander the galaxy as starless outcasts from their home solar systems or orbit whipper-snapper stars barely 1 million years old.
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