In an inspiring tale that highlights the incredible impact of citizen scientists, astronomers are now gearing up to direct the next generation of powerful telescopes toward an Earth-like exoplanet recently discovered by a dedicated individual.
Meet Alexander Venner, a passionate student at the Max Planck Institute for Astronomy. He delved into the vast data gathered by the now-retired NASA space telescope, Kepler, which surveyed 500,000 stars in its quest for exoplanets eight years ago. While such extensive datasets are usually explored using sophisticated search algorithms, Venner took a hands-on approach, carefully sifting through the data himself.
“It was completely missed,” Venner shared with Science Magazine about his exciting discovery, which he presented at the Rocky Worlds conference in Groningen. “The best way to detect it was to actually just look.”
The reason this exoplanet had gone unnoticed is that it orbits a K-dwarf star known as HD 137010. Located a mere 146 light-years away, this proximity allowed Kepler to capture the presence of this small planet, and now, it’s set to be observed in greater detail with the most advanced telescopes available.
The process of finding exoplanets typically involves focusing a telescope on a distant star and monitoring for a dip in the star’s brightness, indicating that a planet is orbiting and blocking some of the light. This technique is known as the transit method.
The very first individual to identify an exoplanet in this manner predicted that millions more were out there. Fast forward to today, and the count of discovered planets beyond our solar system has surpassed 6,000. However, only a handful of these are Earth-like in both orbit and mass.
Most exoplanets detected are large and hot, resulting in noticeable dips in light, making them easier to identify. In contrast, smaller, rocky worlds that reside in the habitable zones of their stars are not only of great interest to scientists but are also much harder to detect due to their cooler temperatures and smaller sizes.
This is precisely why Venner was able to identify the planet designated HD 137010b. The faint signal it emitted was overlooked by algorithms analyzing the Kepler data. Venner encountered this signal through the Planet Hunters project, which invites citizen scientists and enthusiastic volunteers to comb through Kepler’s data and search for signs of planets that larger surveys may have missed.
During his time at the Max Planck Institute, Venner discovered the signal dip from HD 137010. Together with his team, they determined that the dip was best explained by the presence of a planet, rather than a binary star system. By analyzing the timing between the dips and the faintness of the signal, they concluded that an Earth-sized world with a similar orbit to our own was a perfect fit for the data.
Venner and his team’s groundbreaking findings were published in the Astrophysical Journal Letters, proposing that HD 137010b exists in a frigid environment. This remarkable discovery not only showcases the potential of citizen science but also inspires future generations to explore the wonders of our universe!
