Exoplanets: Finding Planets Beyond Our Star

Exoplanets orbit stars other than our sun. They can be larger than gas giants in our solar system (called “Hot Jupiters”), or smaller than Pluto. Many organizations are interested in doing research on exoplanets. Independent observatories like ours at Smith contribute data to these organizations. We specifically work with the TESS project from NASA and Pulkovo Observatory. We measure the brightness of light of a star over time, to see if it dims when an exoplanet is predicted to be transiting. This year alone we have observed 25 transits so far, and continue to observe more each week.  A poster deriving from academic research with James Lowenthal, Mary Elizabeth Moses Professor of Astronomy.