https://thenextweb.com/syndication/2019/10/14/how-finding-the-first-exoplanet-changed-our-perception-of-the-universe/

The 2019 Nobel Prize in Physics was awarded for “contributions to our understanding of the evolution of the universe and Earth’s place in the cosmos.” Half the prize went to cosmologist Jim Peebles, and the other half was awarded jointly to Michel Mayor and my colleague Didier Queloz for the first discovery of an exoplanet orbiting a sun-like star. As someone who has spent a decade studying exoplanets, I know that this award marks a long-awaited recognition of one of the greatest revolutions in modern astronomy, one that has radically changed our perception of our place in the universe.

An exoplanet, or extrasolar planet, is a planet orbiting a star beyond our solar system. For thousands of years across many civilizations, humans have wondered whether worlds existed beyond the Earth and the solar system. It is humbling to realize that this question was only answered a mere 24 years ago.