High school students considered ‘youngest astronomers of all time’ find four exoplanets 200 light years away

Two high school students identified four new exoplanets about 200 light years from Earth, deeming them to be “ the youngest astronomers ” to make such a discovery.

Kartik Pinglé, 16, and Jasmine Wright, 18, both of whom attend Massachusetts schools, participated in the Student Research Mentorship (SRMP) program at the Center for Astrophysics | Harvard and Smithsonian (CfA).

With the help of Tansu Daylan, a post-doctoral fellow at the MIT Kavli Institute for Astrophysics and Space Research, the students studied and analyzed data from the Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS).

Together they focused on Tess Object of Interest (TOI) 1233, a near and bright star like a sun, and here they found four planets rotating around the star.

Scroll down the video

Two high school students identified four new exoplanets about 200 light years from Earth, deeming them to be “ the youngest astronomers ” to make such a discovery. Kartik Pinglé (left), 16, and Jasmine Wright (right), 18, both attend schools in Massachusetts.

“We were looking to see changes in light over time,” Pinglé explained. ‘The idea being that if the planet passes through the star, or passes in front of it, it [periodically] cover the star and decrease its luminosity.

TESS is a space satellite that has discovered more than 20,000 exoplanets in transit – some of which may be super-Earths located in the habitable zone.

While probing 1233, Pinglé and Wright had at least hoped to find a planet, but were overwhelmed with joy when a total of four were spotted.

“I was very excited and very shocked,” Wright said. “We knew that was the goal of Daylan’s research, but actually finding a multiplanetary system and being part of the discovery team was really cool.

Together they focused on Tess Object of Interest (TOI) 1233, a near and bright star like a sun, and here they found four planets rotating around the star. Three of the newly discovered planets are considered “ sub-Neptunes ” and the fourth is a “ super-Earth ” (artist’s impression)

Three of the newly discovered planets are considered “sub-Neptunes,” which are gaseous, but smaller than the Neptune that lives in our solar system.

While observing the planets, the team determined that each of them completes its orbit around 1233 every six to 19.5 days.

However, the fourth planet is referred to as “ super-Earth ” for its large size and rockiness – it orbits the star in just under four days.

“Our species has long envisioned planets beyond our solar system and with multi-planetary systems you sort of hit the jackpot,” Dylan said.

“ The planets originated from the same disc of matter around the same star, but they ended up being different planets with different atmospheres and different climates due to their different orbits. So we would like to understand the fundamental processes of formation and evolution of planets using this planetary system.

TESS is a space satellite, which has discovered more than 20,000 exoplanets in transit – some of which could be super-Earths located in the habitable zone

Daylan added that it was a “win-win” to work with Pinglé and Wright on the study.

“As a researcher, I really enjoy interacting with young brains who are open to experimenting and learning and have minimal bias,” he said.

“I also think it’s very beneficial for high school students because they are exposed to cutting edge research and it quickly prepares them for a career as a researcher.