Kartik Pinglé, aged 65,438+06, and Jasmine Wright, aged 65,438+08, helped to confirm the existence of these exoplanets and recently published a scientific paper on their discovery. When talking about this discovery, Wright said: "I feel very excited and shocked."
In order to carry out this research, the two high school students cooperated with a scientist as part of the student research guidance program of the Center for Astrophysics of Harvard University and Smithsonian University. After that, they conducted a one-year research project with their tutor Tansu Daylan, who is a postdoctoral fellow at the Cuffley Institute of Astrophysics and Space at MIT.
First, they analyzed a large number of data from the transit exoplanet survey satellite (TESS). TESS is a satellite orbiting the earth, looking for new planets by observing nearby bright stars. The research team focused on a bright sun-like star (named TOI- 1233) discovered by TESS to see if any planets revolve around it.
To their surprise, the research team found four planets about 200 light-years away from the earth orbiting the star. Wright said, "We know this is Dylan's research goal, but it's really cool to find a multi-planet system and be part of the team that discovered it."
Clara Sousa-Silva, an astrochemist who directed the project, said that these two teenagers may be the youngest astronomers to make this discovery.
Last week, the peer-reviewed paper written by the two high school students and Dylan was published in Astronomy Journal. Dylan said that working with young researchers is "win-win". He said: "As a researcher, I like interacting with young brains very much. These brains are open to experiments and learning, with little prejudice. I also think it is good for high school students, because they have access to cutting-edge research, which prepares them for their future rapid research career. "
According to the report, the future of these two students is bright-Lai Ping is considering studying applied mathematics or astrophysics after graduation, and Wright has recently been admitted as an astrophysics major at the University of Edinburgh.