Exoplanet

The topic provided, "Biblical canon Exoplanet," seems to be a combination of two distinct subjects: "Biblical canon" and "Exoplanet." Given this, I'll create two separate sections within this article to address each topic comprehensively.

Biblical Canon

The Biblical canon refers to the set of books that are considered to be authoritative and inspired scripture by a particular religious community. The concept of a canon differentiates between writings that are considered sacred and those that are not. The formation of the biblical canon was a complex process that took place over centuries, with different Christian denominations and Judaism recognizing different canons.

Development

The development of the biblical canon began within the Jewish community, which recognized the Tanakh, a collection of religious writings that Christians later referred to as the Old Testament. The Tanakh is divided into three sections: the Torah (Law), the Nevi'im (Prophets), and the Ketuvim (Writings).

In Christianity, the process of canonization extended to include New Testament writings. The criteria for inclusion varied but generally emphasized apostolic authorship, consistency with existing scripture, and widespread use in liturgy. By the 4th century, most of the New Testament canon had been established, although some books remained disputed into the Middle Ages.

Variations

Different Christian traditions have different canons. The Roman Catholic Church includes several Deuterocanonical books in the Old Testament that are not part of the Jewish Tanakh and are rejected by most Protestant denominations. The Eastern Orthodox Church has a slightly larger canon, including a few more books. Additionally, the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church recognizes an even broader canon, including numerous books not accepted by other Christian communities.

Exoplanet

An exoplanet, or extrasolar planet, is a planet that orbits a star outside our own Solar System. The study of exoplanets is a rapidly growing field within astronomy, as it offers insights into the formation of planetary systems and the potential for life beyond Earth.

Discovery

The first confirmed discovery of an exoplanet occurred in 1992, although the concept of planets orbiting other stars has been speculated upon since ancient times. The majority of exoplanets have been discovered using the transit method, which detects the dimming of a star's light as a planet passes in front of it, and the radial velocity method, which measures changes in a star's velocity due to the gravitational pull of an orbiting planet.

Types of Exoplanets

Exoplanets vary widely in size, composition, and orbit. Some of the types include gas giants similar to Jupiter but in close orbits to their stars (known as "hot Jupiters"), rocky Earth-sized planets, and ice giants. The discovery of Earth-like planets in the habitable zone of their stars, where conditions might be right for liquid water, has generated particular interest.

Habitable Zones and the Search for Life

The concept of the habitable zone, or the range of distances from a star where liquid water could exist on a planet's surface, is crucial in the search for extraterrestrial life. The Kepler Space Telescope and the Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS) are among the missions that have identified thousands of exoplanet candidates, some of which are located in their star's habitable zone.

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