  Interest among astronomers in the detection of extra-solar planets is
accelerating with the growing realization that it may soon be technically
feasible. The ongoing renaissance in telescope construction and the anticipated
launches of new space platforms are encouraging many scientists to review and
improve the means by which planets can be discovered. The direct detection of
the light from a distant planet would be the most compelling means of discovery
and to gauge the feasibility of various search strategies, astronomers have
traditionally used the current Jupiter as a benchmark planet. However, in
principle, extra-solar giant planets (EGPs) can have a wide range of masses
and, hence, can be significantly brighter than Jupiter. Furthermore, the
maximum mass a planet can have is not known a priori, and observations will be
needed to determine it. We predict the optical and infrared fluxes of EGPs with
masses from 0.3 through 15 Jupiter masses and ages from 10$^7$ through $5
\times 10^{9}$ years that searches in the next few years may reveal.

Astrophysics