Two Swiss scientists who on Tuesday won the Nobel Physics Prize along with a Canadian-American colleague hailed their win as �simply extraordinary�. Swiss scientists Michel Mayor and Didier Queloz, who shared half the 2019 prize �for the discovery of an exoplanet orbiting a solar-type star�, said the discovery was �the most exciting of our careers�. �Being awarded the Nobel Prize (for this discovery) is just simply extraordinary,� they said in a statement issued by the University of Geneva.
Canadian-American James Peebles won the other half of the prize for �theoretical discoveries in physical cosmology�. Mayor was a professor at Geneva University and Queloz was his doctorate student when the pair on October 6, 1995 �revolutionised the world of astrophysics by announcing the first discovery of a planet situated outside of our solar system,� the university said. The very first exoplanet was named 51 Pegasi b. News of its discovery �was like a bomb exploding in astrophysics circles�, the university said.
Today, around 2,000 exoplanets have been identified. Geneva University President Yves Fluckiger applauded Tuesday�s announcement. �This is a fantastic recognition of the work accomplished by Michel Mayor and Didier Queloz,� he said in the statement. �It is testimony to the quality of their scientific process, their rigour
but also to a creativity and a capacity to think � and to search � outside of the beaten path, which is the source of the greatest discoveries,� he said.