An artistic representation of five planets orbiting TOI-1233, four of which were discovered using the … [+]
NASA / JPL-Caltech
Two high school students, just 16 and 18 years old, have discovered four new exoplanets around the brightest known sun-like star – and co-authored a paper published in The Astronomical Journal.
A rare achievement, and one described by their mentor, Jasmine Wright, 18 and Kartik Pinglé, 16, as ‘hitting the jackpot’, are paid for four hours a week by the Center for Astrophysics, Harvard & Smithsonian as part of its student Research Mentoring Program (SRMP).
Wright and Pinglé discovered the planets around a star called TOI-1233, the brightest known star comparable in size and temperature to our own sun, about 200 light-years from the solar system in the constellation of Centaurus in the southern hemisphere. The star is also known as HD 108236. It was already known that there was one extrasolar planet orbiting the Earth.
With the discovery, the star will become the brightest sun-like star known to host four or more exoplanets. It is an ideal target for NASA’s upcoming James Webb Space Telescope (JWST).
The young astronomers used data from NASA’s Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS), a space telescope that searches for exoplanets by recording declines in the brightness of stars. They also used data from ground-based telescopes.
“We were looking for changes in light over time,” said Pinglé. “The idea is that if the planet passes or passes in front of the star, it would (periodically) cover the star and diminish its brightness.”
A slight dip is a sign that a planet can pass its sun from TESS’s point of view.
“I was very excited and very shocked,” said Wright of their discovery of four planets orbiting a star called TOI-1233. “We knew this was the goal … but actually finding a multi-planetary system and being part of the discovery team was really cool.”
The planets orbiting TOI-1233 include a rocky “super-Earth” that orbits the Earth in less than four days, and three Neptune-like gaseous planets that orbit in six, 14, and 19.5 days, respectively. orbit the Earth.
As a result, they have mean surface temperatures ranging from 700 ° F to 1,500 ° F and are unlikely to harbor life, although their fast orbits mean more passageways – and therefore drop in the brightness of the guest stars. That means more possibilities for astronomers to study the light that passes through the atmosphere of the exoplanets.
TOI-1233 / HD 108236 is located 200 light-years away in the constellation of Centaurus. It’s just above the … [+]
getty
A research team recently confirmed a fifth planet with the characteristic Exoplanet Satellite (CHEOPS), which takes 29 days to orbit the star.
It is possible that further from TOI-1233 there are rocky planets, possibly within the “habitable zone” where liquid water is possible.
It is also hoped that the discovery around TOI-1233 will help astronomers better understand the fundamental processes of planet formation and evolution.
“Multi-planetary systems kind of hit the jackpot,” said Wright and Pinglé mentor Tansu Daylan, a postdoctoral fellow at MIT Kavli Institute for Astrophysics and Space Research. “When it comes to characterizing planetary atmospheres around sun-like stars, this is probably one of the best goals we’ll ever get.”
The planets originated from the same disk of matter surrounding the same star, but they are ultimately different planets with different atmospheres and different climates due to their different orbits.
SRMP is designed to connect high school students interested in research with real scientists at Harvard and MIT. SRMP accepts about 12 students each year and prioritizes underrepresented minorities. Once accepted, the students work with a mentor on a one-year research project.
Not surprisingly, both students are ready for careers in astronomy. Wright has just been accepted into a five-year Master of Astrophysics program at the University of Edinburgh, Scotland, while Pinglé, a junior in high school, plans to study applied mathematics or astrophysics after graduation.
I wish you a clear sky and wide eyes.