Wondering about exoplanets we've observed with telescopes.
[Spoilers All] Please no extra book spoilers beyond what I'm asking (I haven't read past the end of the show), but after seeing the season 3 finale, I'm wondering, are any exoplanets featured in the books based on real ones we've measured with, say, Kepler? Considering how many real astronomical observations are incorporated into the stuff that takes place in our solar system, I'd be surprised if extrasolar planet observations didn't show up too. Then again, I understand that the current observations are pretty fuzzy and the planets' orbits have to be viewed edge on anyway.
Posted Jan 12, 2019, 1:04 AM UTC · edited
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None that I am aware of. Can't say much more without spoiling. Of course the stars are likely observable from earth...but the exoplanets less likely.
The galaxy is huge, and the exoplanets we discover are only those that are in systems rotated with their ecliptic in line with earth observation. 12% of stars or less are even candidates for us to discover LARGE planets. Those with rocky planets that we have observed, still only include mostly worlds with several times the mass, and thus gravity, of earth (so called "super earths"). These are wells so deep that an Earther would feel like a Belter under high burn. So if there were a mars or earth sized planet whereupon our characters might sojourn, we would likely be yet to discover it via our current exoplanetary science resources.