i think an exoplanet section is actually quite an important development as this new field is rapidly expanding and of great interest to astronomers. I don’t personally think tying it in with variable stars is particularly useful because there are other detection techniques apart from transits, and the study of exoplanets is a huge subject area in its own right which could then eclipse the variable star posts of that section. Furthermore some of my acquaintances through working with Kepler data have been discussing possible detection of exomoons and direct imaging of exoplanets. I think this is a new and exciting phase in astronomy and I would fully support a dedicated Exoplanet section.
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