One way to look for exoplanets (planets outside of our solar system) is to use a telescope to watch for stars that __________ due to the gravitational pull of a very massive planet that is orbiting around that star.

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One way to look for exoplanets (planets outside of our solar system) is to use a telescope to watch for stars that __________ due to the gravitational pull of a very massive planet that is orbiting around that star.

BlackTom AI · Accepted Answer

The question asks about a method to detect exoplanets by watching for a star's motion under the gravitational influence of a massive orbiting planet.
Option 1: 'undergo retrograde motion' — Retrograde motion is a visual apparent motion of a planet or star and does not describe the subtle wobble caused by a planet's gravity on its host star. This is not the typical detectable effect used in exoplanet searches.
Option 2: 'emit x-rays' — Exoplanets do not cause a star to emit X-rays through gravitational interaction in a way that would be used for discovery. X-ray emission from stars is not the signal used to infer a planet’s presence via gravity.
Option 3: 'wobble' — This is precisely the astrometric method: a star moves in a small orbit (wobble) around the system’s center of mass due to the gravitational tug of an orbiting planet. Detecting this wobble in the star's position is a credible exoplanet detection technique.
Option 4: 'undergo acceleration' — While a star does experience acceleration due to planetary gravity, measuring acceleration alone without positional changes is not the standard observable in this context. The astrometric wobble is a more direct description of the observable effect astronomers seek.
Option 5: 'emit gamma rays' — Gamma-ray emission would not indicate a planet’s gravitational influence; it is unrelated to the gravitational wobble used for planet detection.
In summary, the description that matches the recognized method of detecting exoplanets via the star’s motion caused by a planet’s gravity is the star 'wobble,' making Option 3 the correct interpretation of the described approach.

EARTHSC 2205 SP2025 (19389) PhysicsNewton

One way to look for exoplanets (planets outside of our solar system) is to use a telescope to watch for stars that __________ due to the gravitational pull of a very massive planet that is orbiting around that star.

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