We are always advised, as youngsters, to dream big and reach for the stars. But the term appears to have been taken very literally by two bright high school boys. They just set their eyes on a neighboring star and, in the end, found a whole new planetary system composed of four planets!
Looking for water-rich exoplanets is important before we visit another world, just like our earth.
Earlier this week, 16-year-old Kartik Pinglé and 18-year-old Jasmine Wright peer-reviewed a paper and detailed their observation of four additional exoplanets situated about 200 light-years away from Earth.
The two students were involved in the analysis at the Center for Astrophysics, Harvard & Smithsonian. It's a Massachusetts-based initiative that integrates local high school students involved in science with Harvard and MIT scientists through the Student Research Mentoring Program (SRMP). The mentors led these learners on a year-long study project by their mentors.
Pinglé and Wright collaborated with mentor Tansu Daylan, a postdoc at the MIT Kavli Center for Astrophysics and Space Science, on this specific research project. They examined and interpreted data from the Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS). TESS, a space-based spacecraft, orbits the Earth and surveys bright stars nearby to explore new planets.
They also recently released their co-authored paper in The Astronomical Journal, which can be found here.
TOI 1233: What Is It?
To decide if any planets were rotating around it, the team concentrated on TESS Object of Interest (TOI) 1233, a bright Sun-like star.
Pinglé said, per Forbes, that they're observing the changes in light over time. The researcher explained that the light would decrease its brightness as it would periodically cover up the star if the planet transits the star or passes in front of it.
And much to their delight, the team discovered not one but four planets rotating around TOI-1233.
Three of these recently found planets have been identified as 'sub-Neptunes' because they are close, though much smaller, gaseous worlds than our own Neptune. These three planets take around six to 19.5 days to orbit around TOI-1233.
Consequently, they have typical surface temperatures varying from 700 °F to 1,500 °F to impossible to host existence. Simultaneously, their swift orbits suggest other transits and thus dips in the brightness of the hosts' stars. This implies further options for observers to investigate the light that travels through the exoplanets' environment.
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A study team has recently confirmed a fifth planet using the CHaracterising Exoplanet Satellite (CHEOPS), which takes 29 days to circle the star.
It is likely that farther from TOI-1233, perhaps beyond its "habitable zone" where liquid water will be possible, there could be rocky planets.
The detection of TOI-1233 is also supposed to enable astronomers better grasp the essential mechanisms of planet creation and evolution.
TOI-1233: An Out Of This World Moment For Teenagers
Daylan said per SciTechDaily that collaborating on Pinglé and Wright's research is a 'win-win' move.
As a scholar, he said he always enjoyed engaging with young minds who have low prejudice and are open to innovation and learning. He added high school students' thesis when they are introduced to cutting-edge science, which easily trains them for a research career.
A former postdoctoral fellow at the Center for Astrophysics |Harvard & Smithsonian founded the SRMP in 2016. About a dozen students each year are admitted by the initiative, with preference given to underrepresented minorities.
The students are charged four hours a week for the study they complete due to a collaboration with the City of Cambridge.
The SRMP's director, astrochemist Clara Sousa-Silva, said these teens are salaried scientists. According to Sousa-Silva, senior researchers want to persuade young people that it is exciting and satisfying to follow an academic profession, no matter what they end up pursuing in life.
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