Question

which statement best describes how the kepler mission changed astronomers understanding of planets? a planets are either terrestrial planets or gas giants. b all terrestrial planets orbit close to a star. c all gas giants are located far away from the stars they orbit. d earths solar system has two kinds of planets, but there are more than two kinds orbiting other stars.

Explanation:

The Kepler mission discovered many exoplanets (planets outside our solar - system). Before Kepler, our understanding of planets was mainly based on the two types in our solar system (terrestrial and gas giants). Kepler showed that there are a wide variety of planet types orbiting other stars, beyond the two - type classification of our solar system.

Answer:

D. Earth's solar system has two kinds of planets, but there are more than two kinds orbiting other stars.