NASA Exoplanet Archive Scraper

Explore 5,500+ confirmed exoplanets from NASA's official Exoplanet Archive using their Table Access Protocol (TAP) API. Find recent discoveries, search for planets around specific stars, filter by discovery method, or identify Earth-like candidates in the habitable zone. No API key required.

What data can I get?

• Recent planet discoveries — all planets discovered in the past few years (2020+)
• Planets by host star — all known planets orbiting a specific star (e.g. TRAPPIST-1, Kepler-442)
• Filtered planet lists — filter by discovery method (Transit, Radial Velocity, Direct Imaging, etc.)
• Habitable zone candidates — planets with Earth-like radius (<2 R⊕) and suitable temperatures (200–350 K)
• Complete planet parameters — orbital period, radius, mass, temperature, facility, and more

Features

• 4 modes: search planets, get recent discoveries, look up by star name, or find habitable-zone planets
• Discovery method filter — Transit, Radial Velocity, Direct Imaging, Microlensing, Astrometry, and more
• Year range filtering — narrow results to planets discovered within specific years
• NASA's composite parameter table — uses pscomppars for best-value parameters per planet
• No API key — uses NASA's public TAP (Table Access Protocol) endpoint

Input

Field	Type	Description
mode	select	searchPlanets, recentDiscoveries, getByStarName, or habitableZone
hostStar	text	Host star name for getByStarName mode (e.g. TRAPPIST-1, Kepler-442)
minYear	integer	Earliest discovery year (default: 2020)
maxYear	integer	Latest discovery year (default: 2025)
discoveryMethod	select	Filter by detection method (e.g. Transit, Radial Velocity)
maxItems	integer	Max records to return (1–1000, default: 100)

Discovery Methods

Method	Description
Transit	Planet passes in front of the star, dimming its light
Radial Velocity	Planet's gravity causes measurable star wobble
Direct Imaging	Planet photographed directly
Microlensing	Gravitational lensing of background starlight
Astrometry	Precise measurement of star position wobble
Timing Variations	Changes in timing of pulsar or transiting planet signals

Output

Each record contains:

Field	Description
planetName	Full planet designation (e.g. Kepler-442 b)
hostStar	Name of the host star (e.g. Kepler-442)
orbitalPeriodDays	Orbital period in Earth days
planetRadiusEarth	Planet radius in Earth radii (R⊕)
planetMassEarth	Planet mass in Earth masses (M⊕)
equilibriumTempK	Equilibrium temperature in Kelvin
discoveryYear	Year of discovery
discoveryMethod	Method used to detect the planet
discoveryFacility	Observatory/telescope that made the discovery
numberOfStars	Number of stars in the host system
numberOfPlanets	Number of confirmed planets in the system
scrapedAt	ISO 8601 timestamp

Examples

Recent Discoveries (2022–2025)

{
  "mode": "recentDiscoveries",
  "minYear": 2022,
  "maxYear": 2025,
  "maxItems": 50
}

Sample output:

{
  "planetName": "TOI-700 e",
  "hostStar": "TOI-700",
  "orbitalPeriodDays": 27.812,
  "planetRadiusEarth": 0.95,
  "equilibriumTempK": 269.0,
  "discoveryYear": 2023,
  "discoveryMethod": "Transit",
  "discoveryFacility": "Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite",
  "numberOfStars": 1,
  "numberOfPlanets": 4,
  "scrapedAt": "2024-01-15T10:30:00+00:00"
}

TRAPPIST-1 System

{
  "mode": "getByStarName",
  "hostStar": "TRAPPIST-1",
  "maxItems": 20
}

Habitable Zone Candidates

{
  "mode": "habitableZone",
  "maxItems": 100
}

FAQs

Q: Is an API key required? A: No. NASA's Exoplanet Archive TAP API is completely free and open. No registration needed.

Q: How many planets are in the database? A: Over 5,500 confirmed exoplanets as of 2024, with new discoveries added regularly.

Q: What is the pscomppars table? A: The Planetary Systems Composite Parameters table provides the best available parameter values for each confirmed planet, combining data from multiple literature sources.

Q: Why are some fields missing for some planets? A: Not all parameters are measured for every planet. Fields like mass or temperature may be missing if the observation method doesn't capture them (e.g., direct imaging planets often lack mass measurements).

Q: What does equilibrium temperature mean? A: The equilibrium temperature (in Kelvin) is the theoretical surface temperature if the planet were a perfect blackbody. Earth's is ~255 K; the greenhouse effect brings it to ~288 K. For habitable zone candidates, look for 200–350 K.

Q: How do I find Earth-like planets? A: Use habitableZone mode, which filters for planets with radius < 2 Earth radii and equilibrium temperature between 200–350 K — the conditions most likely to support liquid water.

Q: What year range is supported? A: The first confirmed exoplanet (51 Peg b) was discovered in 1995. You can filter from 1989 onwards. New discoveries are added within days of publication.

Data Source

Data sourced from the NASA Exoplanet Archive — operated by the California Institute of Technology under contract with NASA's Exoplanet Exploration Program. Data is continuously updated as new planets are confirmed.