A pair of high school students are congratulated for making a major astronomical discovery after identifying four new planets in orbit around a star about 200 light-years from Earth.
What are the details?
The two students, 16-year-old Kartik Pinglé and 18-year-old Jasmine Wright, both from schools in Massachusetts, were delighted to participate in the discovery and wrote about it in a paper published in the Astronomical Journal last week. past.
According to a press release about the news published by the Center for Astrophysics, a collaboration between Harvard University and the Smithsonian Institution, the discovery could make the youngest astronomers who have made such an important discovery.
The students made their discovery as part of the CFA “Student Research Mentoring Program”, an initiative that pairs students interested in research with real-world scientists, who then embark on a one-year project.
As part of the program, high school students were selected to work with Tansu Daylan, a postdoctoral researcher at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, analyzing data from the Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS), a satellite that orbits the Earth and investigates nearby bright stars. hoping to discover new planets.
The team focused on a nearby, sun-like star called TESS Object of Interest 1233 to see if the planets were in orbit around it.
“We have been looking to see changes in light over time,” Pinglé explained of the research. “The idea is that if the planet transits the star or passes in front of it, it would be [periodically] cover the star and reduce its brightness. “
While probing the star, the students hoped to discover at least one planet, but to their surprise, they found four.
“I was very excited and very shocked,” Wright said of the discovery. “I knew that was the purpose of Daylan’s research, but it was very interesting to actually find a multiplanetary system and be part of the discovery team.”
According to the research, the three outer planets are considered “sub-Neptunes” or gaseous planets that are smaller than otherwise similar to the homonymous planet of our solar system, while the innermost planet is considered a “super-Earth”. due to its large and rocky size.
What else?
The director of the program, Clara Sousa-Silva, noted that the achievements of Pinglé and Wright are rare.
“Although [it] is one of the goals of SRMP, it is extremely unusual for high school students to be co-authors in newspapers, “she said in a press release.
Daylan added that it was a “win-win” to work with Pinglé and Wright and make a major breakthrough.
“As a researcher, I really enjoy interacting with young brains who are open to experimentation and learning and who have minimal bias,” he said. “I also think it’s very beneficial for high school students, because they are exposed to state-of-the-art research, and this quickly prepares them for a research career.”
According to the press release, Pinglé, who is still just a junior in high school, is considering studying applied mathematics or astrophysics after graduation, while Wright was accepted into a five-year master’s program in astrophysics at the University of Edinburgh. in Scotland.