Find out more about the exciting hack an exoplanet activity in the videos below featuring exoplanet experts Didier Queloz, 2019 Nobel Laureate in Physics, Kate Isaak, ESA project scientist for the Cheops mission, and more!
Exoplanets are planets outside our own Solar System, orbiting a star other than our Sun. Scientists use telescopes to find exoplanets and study them. Watch the video below to learn more!
Astronomers use specific software tools to analyse the data and fit mathematical models. You can access one of the tools astronomers use to analyse these exoplanets: Allesfitter. Watch the video tutorial or download the allesfitter guide to learn how to use allesfitter and access the Cheops data.
The depth of the exoplanet transit is equivalent to the ratio of the area of the planet’s disc and the area of the star’s disc. By measuring the transit’s depth from the transit light curve and knowing the stellar radius (Rs) you can determine the exoplanet’s radius (Rp).
Watch the video to learn more.
The orbital period, T, of a planet is the time it takes the planet to complete one full orbit around its star.
Based on the orbital period, T, we can derive the distance, d, between the planet and the star, using Kepler’s Third Law.
Watch the video to learn more.
To this day, Earth is the only place in the universe that is known to host life. It is also unknown if life could develop and exist in conditions very dissimilar to the ones that exist on our planet. When examining exoplanets and defining the possible conditions for habitability, scientists try to identify similar conditions to Earth, like temperature.
Watch the video to learn more.
n our Solar System, planets are usually divided into two categories: rocky and gaseous. However, exoplanets can be very different from the neighbouring planets we are used to.
Watch the video to learn more.
Brief description: Didier Queloz, 2019 Physics Nobel Prize laureate, answers the questions of the best teams of the Hack an Exoplanet activity in this 1-hour
Complete the quiz to test your knowledge on exoplanets and get your certificate! Rules: The quiz is composed of 6 questions about exoplanets. Complete it
Brief description: Microbial life is known to survive in all sorts of extreme environments by going into a dormant state. Could they have survived long