Created essentially at the Observatory, the initial purpose of this satellite was to study the oscillations of stars, phenomena that reveal their internal structure. However, it also observed the transit of planets in front of their parent stars, which momentarily lowers their brightness: 32 exoplanets have been discovered in this way. CoRoT’s mission, originally planned to last for three years, continued in fact for seven and a half, since the measurements were so successful.

caption : The CoRot satellite - credits : CNES/D. Ducros