Exoplanet weather - Review 1

C2 Proficiency · Open Cloze · Close-up C2 Workbook, National Geographic Learning

For questions 1–8, read the text below and think of the word which best fits each gap. Use only one word in each gap.

In 1992, radio astronomers Aleksander Wolszczan and Dale Frail (1) ___ listening intently to the night sky. As part of their jobs, they (2) ___ to do this night after night in search of anomalous sounds. One night, they made a thrilling discovery – the detection of an exoplanet. After confirmation, it was celebrated in the astronomical community as a remarkable event, for it marked the first time an exoplanet – in this case, two – (3) ___ been discovered and confirmed as such. Since then, more than 2,000 exoplanets (4) ___ been discovered. Scientists can actually detect atmospheric composition on these planets, which are anywhere (5) ___ four to almost 30,000 light-years away from Earth. As the planet passes in front of its star, they study the light that travels through its atmosphere; that is, if its parent star has (6) ___ blasted it away with solar winds. By studying the stellar spectrum, scientists can determine what elements are present. Naturally, they hope (7) ___ locate habitable worlds and, in the past, the near-Earth twins discovered (8) ___ make headline news. Still, space technology needs to progress much further in order to detect any meaningful signs of life anytime soon.

Exoplanet weather

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