space agency of NASA has opened its exoplanet exploration program to a wider audience, with the aim of finding these stars more quickly and efficiently through collective data analysis.
Since it is a fact that we are facing a new era in the history of space exploration and the study of stars. all largely thanks to the existence and launch of the devices James Webb Space Telescope.
During 2022 we saw how the discovery and in-depth analysis of new stars skyrocketed impressively. A wide range of exoplanets with all kinds of properties are included.
Stars that are somewhat similar to Earth where it is difficult to even imagine the conditions of their existence.
Thanks to James Webb and new data analysis techniques, which are much less complicated and make it possible to find such stars faster.
And now anyone can join the quest.
NASA has opened its exoplanet search program to the public
a recent post in official blog about the space agency we learn now that its program exoplanet watch Seeks citizen scientists and hobbyist observers to help track planets outside our solar system, also known as exoplanets.
The most interesting thing here is that participants can use their own telescope for civilian use to search for exoplanets or even have the opportunity to study data from other more powerful telescopes using a computer or smartphone Can get it:
“With Exoplanet Watch you can learn how to observe exoplanets and perform data analysis using the software real NASA scientists use. We’re excited to show more people how exoplanet science is really done.”
That’s what Rob Zellum, creator of Exoplanet Watch and astrophysicist at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL), said in a publication announcing the large-scale inauguration of the program.
The Exoplanet Watch project actually started in the year of 2018 under the Universe of Learning initiative of NASA.
However, over the years there were some restrictive limits on the number of people who could review data from other telescopes and did not support using these instruments at home as a source of verification.
Now Exoplanet Watch has been renewed and its protocol uses the transit method, a technique that looks for slight dimming of the host star when the planet passes in front of it.
Such times between transits indicate how long it takes for an exoplanet to orbit its parent star, and the more transits that are measured, the more precisely the length of the orbit is known.
In this new phase, NASA will teach participants how to apply this method and analyze data collected by the agency to search for new exoplanets.
