Contemplating the existence and character of ‘other worlds’ has a long history, giving rise to an ample body of philosophical and artistic works. But only in 1995 could we begin to put these musings on a scientific basis, with the detection of the first extrasolar planet by Michel Mayor and collaborators at Geneva Observatory. Since that time, the field of extrasolar planets (exoplanets for short) has undergone extremely rapid development and has delivered some of the most exciting results in astronomy. Research today on exoplanets has established itself as a major branch of current astronomy. The growing importance of this field can be shown from the rising number of publications in the field. Starting with a few scattered papers over ten years ago, currently about 2% of all of the papers published in astronomy deal with extrasolar planets. Similarly, the number of projects searching for extrasolar planets has risen from five in 1995 to over 70 at present. Training in exoplanets may therefore be considered very valuable for young researchers. Due to the novelty of the subject, new research groups are frequently still being formed, giving excellent opportunities for participation by qualified personnel.

With exoplanetary science essentially starting in 1995 and with its very rapid development in the following years, this topic has hardly found its way into the astronomy/astrophysics curricula taught at universities. There are still relatively few lecturers familiar with the topic.