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.
Ústav Českolipská
Best Project Prize Winner
Gymnázium Českolipská 373 Praha – Czech Republic 18 years old 3 / 1
TOI-560c
TOI-560c project description:
Our project has focused on finding out as much as possible about the exoplanet and comparing it to our planets and other known exoplanets and making it as accesible to the public as possible.
We have used data pro the light transit curve and some info that was provided to us by the organizers (planet and sun mass). We have used known formulas to determine all the orbital characteristics of the planet and to make prediction about its external characteristics like the possibility of having a moon etc.
Our main output is a poster (included in the files) and a wiki-like website (linked here and in our projects website slot.) They are easily understandable for the common public.
TOI-560c Results and Analysis
Calculated Rp: 2.50492577 Re
Volume = 40.9 Ve (4,46e13 cu. m.)
Mass= 9.70 +-1.8 Me
Density = 3.9 g/cm3
Orbital period = 18.87 days
Mean distance from sun: 0.12 AU
Maginitude= 7.7 (https://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.3847/1538-3881/ac9834#ajac9834s2)
Orbital velocity = 248 064 Km/h
Transit time = 3.7h
Path in front of sun = 339 564 km
Impact parameter from Earth= 0.21 -> 88147 km
thick hydrogen–helium atmosphere, probably with deep layers of ice, rock or liquid oceans – made of water, ammonia, a mixture of both, or heavier volatiles
Info for similar planet: http://www.exoplanetkyoto.org/exohtml/BD-06_1339_b.html
Radiation at Planetary Boundary of TOI-560 c : 16837.85 W/m2
The classification of exoplanets often relies on a set of general characteristics, such as their size, mass, and atmospheric composition. Traditionally, mini-Neptunes are considered to be larger than Earth but smaller than Neptune, typically characterized by a thick gaseous envelope surrounding a rocky or icy core. On the other hand, super-Earths are defined as planets with masses and sizes exceeding that of our own planet but falling short of the gas giant threshold.
Because TOI-560c is so distant, we have little information about what it actually looks like, what it is made of, the pressure and temperature of its layers, and its color. Some of this information can be guessed based on its supposed similarity to more closely studied planets, in this case Neptune. If we assume that TOI-560 is a mini-Neptune type planet, we can say that it has 4 layers – a core – made of metals, rock and ice; a mantle – made of liquid and frozen water, ammonia and methane; an atmosphere – made of hydrogen, helium and methane gas ; an upper atmosphere (also exosphere) – where there are light gasses and cloud tops.
However, if TOI-560c is rocky in nature, as NASA suggests, it probably has a more chemically complex composition and has only a thin layer of gaseous envelope. In this case, a semi-liquid heavy metal core, a liquid envelope, and a solid layer on the surface is more likely.
TOI-560c is by our calculations most likely a rocky planet with a small iron core and a large semi-liquid metallic layer made of silicons and nickel. This is followed by a thick layer of ice above the surface thin atmosphere. + přidat calculations a nějaký popis
Potřeba dodělat okec o rychlosti oběhu atd.
“A Mini-Neptune (sometimes known as a gas dwarf or transitional planet) is a planet less massive than Neptune but resembling Neptune in that it has a thick hydrogen–helium atmosphere, probably with deep layers of ice, rock or liquid oceans (made of water, ammonia, a mixture of both, or heavier volatiles). A gas dwarf is a gas planet with a rocky core that has accumulated a thick envelope of hydrogen, helium, and other volatiles, having, as a result, a total radius between 1.7 and 3.9 Earth radii (1.7–3.9 REarth). The term is used in a three-tier, metallicity-based classification regime for short-period exoplanets, which also includes the rocky, terrestrial-like planets with less than 1.7 REarth and planets greater than 3.9 REarth, namely ice giants and gas giants.” (Citation,…)
A super-Earth is a type of exoplanet with a mass higher than Earth’s, but substantially below those of the Solar System’s ice giants, Uranus and Neptune, which are 14.5 and 17 times Earth’s, respectively. The term “super-Earth” refers only to the mass of the planet, and so does not imply anything about the surface conditions or habitability
K-type stars are orangish stars that are slightly cooler than the Sun. They make up about 12% of the main-sequence stars in the solar neighborhood. There are also giant K-type stars, which range from hypergiants like RW Cephei, to giants and supergiants, such as Arcturus, whereas orange dwarfs, like Alpha Centauri B, are main-sequence stars. They have extremely weak hydrogen lines, if those are present at all, and mostly neutral metals (Mn I, Fe I, Si I). By late K, molecular bands of titanium oxide become present. Mainstream theories (those rooted in lower harmful radioactivity and star longevity) would thus suggest such stars have the optimal chances of heavily evolved life developing on orbiting planets (if such life is directly analogous to earth’s) due to a broad habitable zone yet much lower harmful periods of emission compared to those with the broadest such zones.
TOI-560b
The planet with the given data was discovered in 2021. Its mass is reported as 0.0321 times the mass of the Sun with an uncertainty of -0.0098 +0.0107 solar masses. The mass multiplied by the sine of the inclination (degrees) was not provided. The planet’s semi-major axis is 0.0604± 0.0026 au. The orbital period of the planet around its parent star is 6.398042±6.5e-06 days. The eccentricity of the planet’s orbit is 0.105 with uncertainty -0.068 +0.084. The argument of pericenter (ω) is 262.0 degrees with an uncertainty of -62.0 +256.0 degrees.
The radius of the planet is 0.2489 times the radius of Jupiter with an uncertainty of ± 0.009 Jupiter radii. The inclination of the planet’s orbit is 88.37 ± 0.18 degrees.
The calculated temperature of the planet is 721.0 K with an uncertainty of ± 21.0 K.”
The method of detecting the planet is primary transit, which means the planet passes in front of its parent star and causes a temporary decrease in brightness. The mass of the planet was determined using the radial velocity method, which tracks the motion of the star caused by the gravitational influence of the planet. The radius of the planet was also determined using the primary transit method.
Other names: GJ 313 b, Gaia DR2 5746824674801810816 b, TYC 5441-431-1 b, HIP 42401 b, HD 73583 b
Type: Neptun-like
Mass 0.0321 ( -0.0098 +0.0107 ) S
Mass*sin(i) —
Semi-Major Axis 0.0604 (± 0.0026)
Orbital Period 6.398042 (± 6.5e-06) day
Eccentricity 0.105 ( -0.068 +0.084 )
ω 262.0 ( -62.0 +256.0 ) deg
Radius 0.2489 (± 0.009) RJ
Inclination 88.37 (± 0.18) deg
Update 2022-07-29
Detection Method Primary Transit
Mass Detection Method Radial Velocity
Radius Detection Method Primary Transit
Primary transit 2458517.6901 ( -0.00062 +0.00056 ) JD
Secondary transit 2458520.15 (± 0.85) JD
Impact Parameter b 0.601 ( -0.083 +0.077 )
Time Vr=0
Velocity Semiamplitude K 4.39 ( -1.3 +1.4 ) m/s
Calculated temperature 721.0 (± 21.0) K
Hot Neptune desert
Hot Neptune desert is is a region where Neptune-like planets of Neptune’s size cannot exist in the long term because due to their size and temperature – their proximity to the star – light elements from their atmosphere evaporate, this escalates to a simple loss of atmosphere and only rocky core remains. This happens to planets with around 3-10 Earth radius and the proximity to stars shorter than around 9 million miles. The high enough temperature for this phenomenon is caused by the star’s intense radiation due to the planet’s close proximity to the star. The intensity of the radiation is also impacted by the age of the star and its spectral type. A similar phenomenon, but on a much smaller scale, occurs beyond the Hot Neptune Desert, where the farther the planet is from the star, the less the atmosphere evaporates spontaneously. So it is possible that both planets in the system TOI-560 (it is confirmed only with TOI-560b) are slowly losing atmosphere. It will probably never get to the point where they lose their atmosphere completely.
one of the warmest known Neptunes (GJ 436b) is losing its atmosphere. That planet isn’t expected to evaporate away, but hotter Neptunes might not have been so lucky. A star’s intense radiation can heat an atmosphere to a point where it escapes the planet’s gravitational pull like an untethered hot air balloon. The escaping gas forms a giant cloud around the planet that dissipates into space.
This might be the case for a planet called GJ 3470b, a “very warm Neptune” that is losing its atmosphere at a rate 100 times faster than that of GJ 436b. Both planets reside about 3.7 million miles (5.5 million kilometers) from their stars. That’s a tenth the distance between our solar system’s innermost planet, Mercury, and the Sun. One reason why GJ 3470b may be evaporating faster than GJ 436b is that it is not as dense, so it is less able to gravitationally hang on to the heated atmosphere.
Both of the planets orbit red dwarf stars, but GJ 3470b orbits a much younger star, only 2 billion years old, compared to GJ 3470b’s 4- to 8-billion-year-old star. The younger star is more energetic, so it bombards the planet with more blistering radiation than GJ 436b receives.
Finding two evaporating, warm Neptunes reinforces the idea that the hotter version of these usually distant worlds may be a class of planets in transition. It could be the ultimate fate of hot and very warm Neptunes is to shrink down to mini-Neptunes – planets with heavy, hydrogen-dominated atmospheres that are larger than Earth but smaller than Neptune. Or they may downsize even further to become super-Earths – more massive, rocky versions of Earth.
The Neptunian Desert or sub-Jovian desert is broadly defined as the region close to a star (period 0.1 MJ) exoplanets are found.[1] This zone receives strong irradiation from the star, meaning the planets cannot retain their gaseous atmospheres: They evaporate, leaving just a rocky core
We have explored the possibility, that the planet can’t be a mini neptune, because i could hold its hydrogen helium atmosphere.
However the mean root velocity of both hydrogen a helium molecules is by way lower than escape velocity at the edge of the planets atmosphere. I have also explored the possibly of the atmosphere being blown away by solar winds. Upon examining TOI 560 b, which I ruled as a mini neptune because of its density. Such planets have very weak magnetospheres meaning the atmosphere wouldve been blown away on that planet as well.
In con
Články:
https://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.3847/1538-3881/ac3fa7/pdf
https://exoplanets.nasa.gov/eyes-on-exoplanets/#/planet/HD_73583_c/
http://www.exoplanetkyoto.org/exohtml/TOI-560_c.html
http://exoplanet.eu/catalog/hd_73583_c/
https://academic.oup.com/mnras/article/514/2/1606/6548902?login=false
Temperature and pressure shift at different heights. The average temperature at the top of the cloud tops is minus 346 degrees Fahrenheit (minus 210 degrees Celsius)
Like the other gas giants, the enormous planet lacks a solid surface. Instead, the gas stretches down to the water-ammonia ocean that makes up the planet’s mantle. Scientists have defined the “surface” of Neptune as the region where the surface pressure is equivalent to the pressure on Earth at sea level. The temperature at this “surface” is approximately minus 346 F (minus 201 C).
The planet’s average temperature is minus 353 F (minus 214 C).
TOI-560c Conclusions
We have concluded that TOI-560 is indeed a very interesting exoplanet as it could be both, a gas giant and a solid planet. However we lean on the sde of it being a small gas giant classified as a mini neptune akin to its sister planet. Most of its characteristics are probably very similiar to our planet Neptune other than its density, which is higher in TOI560. This suggest strong solar winds a a lack of or a very weak protective magnetosphere.
This planet could definitively use more research. The most usefule data would be spectroscopy of the sun a the planets, whih we could use to determinine the planets elemetary compositin and color.
Supporting files:
