Exoplanets represent a broad new class of astronomical objects, which became accessible for observations and studies only just before the end of the last century. Owing to continually improving techniques of ground-based observations, and especially observations from space, for a little bit more than two decades thousands of planetary systems of other stars have been discovered, and this process is escalating. Exoplanets are of paramount interest for astrophysical, astrochemical, and dynamical studies. Exoplanetary studies have opened up new horizons to gain insights into fundamental problems of stellar-planetary cosmogony and, in particular, into the question of the origin and evolution of the Solar System. Discoveries of Earth-like planets, especially those orbiting in stellar habitable zones favorable to giving rise to and sustaining life, open new prospects for progress in astrobiology.

系外行星代表了一类广泛的新天体，仅在上个世纪末之前才可以进行观测和研究。由于地面观测技术，特别是太空观测技术的不断改进，二十多年来，已经发现了数千个其他恒星的行星系统，并且这一过程正在升级。系外行星对天体物理学、天体化学和动力学研究具有重要意义。系外行星研究开辟了新的视野，可以深入了解恒星-行星宇宙起源的基本问题，特别是太阳系的起源和演化问题。发现类地行星，特别是那些在有利于产生和维持生命的恒星宜居带中运行的行星，