ESA Hack an Exoplanet virtual event
Secondary students from across Europe are invited to become exoplanet detectives with ESA and use Cheops satellite data to uncover the mysteries of our two exoplanet targets: KELT-3b and TOI-560c.
Join this inspiring investigation by following this unique virtual event Hack an Exoplanet with your students.
This is a recording of the live event that took place on 18 April 2023.
Start your Hack an Exoplanet challenge now!
Fast Facts
Duration: 2 hours and 30 minutes
Language: English
Recommended level: Secondary students and educators
Watch the recording: https://www.youtube.com/live/FTSjl7G39S8
The teams’ challenges are available in the following languages: English, Czech, Danish*, Dutch, Estonian*, Finnish*, French*, German, Greek, Hungarian*, Italian*, Latvian*, Lithuanian*, Norwegian, Polish*, Portuguese, Romanian, Slovak*, Slovenian*, Spanish, and Swedish.
(*Resource has been autotranslated)
In January 2023, the Cheops satellite observed two special exoplanets, KELT-3b and TOI-560c for this educational challenge. During the hackathon our team of experts will guide you in discovering how to analyse the Cheops data to uncover the size, orbital period and distance, habitability, and composition of these two distant worlds. Follow along to uncover the properties of the exoplanets and become a real exoplanet detective.
Teams will have to complete a set of 5 activities tailored for students and freely available. This activity is presented in English, but the challenge materials are available in 21 languages.
Students and teachers will have the opportunity to ask questions directly to the ESA Science experts: Kate Isaak, Maximillian Guenther, and Sandor Kruk, by using the Ask a Scientist feature.
Are you a team mentor or educator? Consult the educators page for more information on how to conduct the hackathon and suggested solutions.
Start your investigation!
Are you ready to analyse the Cheops data and investigate your exoplanet? To begin investigating, Step 1 is to use allesfitter to access the light curve data collected by the Cheops satellite. From here you can continue your investigation into the exoplanet’s properties: size, orbital period, orbital distance, temperature and composition.
If you experience slow loading times, please try to use this backup link instead
Download the allesfitter guide:
For step-by-step instructions on how to use allesfitter, follow this useful guide.
Unable to access allesfitter?
If you experience slow loading times, you can download a pdf file with the exoplanet transit light curve and best model fit.
