Project Gallery 2023

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Project Gallery 2023

Secondary students from across Europe became exoplanet detectives with ESA and used Cheops satellite data to uncover the mysteries of two exoplanet targets: KELT-3b and TOI-560c.

Explore the projects below.

O-Moon

Liceul Teoretic “Emil Racovita”Β  Baia Mare – Maramures Β Β  Romania 16 years old Β  2 / 1


TOI-560c


TOI-560c project description:

Our goal was to further analyse the planet TOI-560c, discover its orbital period, the distance between it and its host star, its density and composition, and probably the most important factor when discovering any new planet; its habitability, or its ability to sustain living organisms.

TOI-560c Results and Analysis

Step 1
The first step was to access its data, which we did using allesfitter.
Step 2
The second step was to find its transit depth, and its size. The transit depth can be directly measured on the graph above. It is somewhere around 0.1%. Its size was determined using the following formula:
𝑅𝑝 = βˆšπ‘…π‘ 2π‘₯π‘‘π‘Ÿπ‘Žπ‘›π‘ π‘–π‘‘π‘‘π‘’π‘π‘‘β„Ž 100

Where Rp is the radius of the planet;
Rs is the radius of the host star;

In our case, the radius of the star is known and providedin the case file:
Rs=0.65 RSun
𝑅𝑝 = √0.65π‘₯0.1 100 = 0,022
We then converted the result to earth radii units by multiplying the result with 109 (this is because the radius of the sun is 109 bigger than the radius of the earth)
Rp=0,022 x 109 = 2,398

Step 3
On the third step, we had to find the orbital period and the distance between the planet and its host star
The orbital period was known and again provided in the case file.
T=18.8797 days, converted in seconds, it’s about 1631206.08 seconds
The distance was calculated using the following formula:𝑑 = βˆšπΊπ‘€π‘  4πœ‹2 3 Γ— 𝑇 2
G- gravitational constant
Ms- mass of the star
T= orbital period

We complete the equation with what we already know, giving us the following :
𝑑 = √6.67430π‘₯10βˆ’11π‘š3π‘˜π‘”βˆ’1𝑠 βˆ’1 Γ— 1,45 Γ— 1030 4πœ‹2 3Γ— 16312062
After converting into A.U (astronomical units) the result should be around 0.12 A.U
This number is comparable to mercury, which orbits 0.4 A.U from the sun
Step 4
On step 4 we had to determine the temperature and habitability of the planet TOI-560c. Of course, this planets temperature is way too high to sustain life (or at least life as we know it)
TOI-560c has a temperature of 225 celsius

Step 5
The last step was to find out its composition and volume
π‘ž = M/V
Volume can be calculated, assuming that it is a perfect sphere
𝑉 =4/3Γ— πœ‹ Γ— 𝑅^3
𝑉 = 61867β€ˆπ‘˜π‘š3
Lastly, the density which is π‘ž =58Γ—1027𝐾𝑔/61867β€ˆπΎπ‘š


TOI-560c Conclusions

TOI-560c is a neptune-sized planet that orbits very close to its host star. Its composition is mostly made up of Helium and Hydrogen, it is a gaseous planet OR if it is as similar to Neptune as we think it is, its composition could consist of water, ammonia and methane. This planet is not habitable, as it is far too hot for it to sustain life.


Supporting files:

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