In a remarkable turn of events, a young intern from New York has made a groundbreaking discovery while working with NASA. Seventeen-year-old Jake Thompson, a high school senior, stumbled upon a new planet during his internship at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland. His task involved analyzing star brightness data, and what he found was truly extraordinary.
While delving into the data from the Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS), Jake noticed a subtle dimming in one of the stars from a distant solar system located about 1,300 light-years away. This dimming, he discovered, was the signature of a planet that is an astonishing 6.9 times larger than Earth, orbiting not one, but two suns, a phenomenon known as a “circumbinary planet.”
“I was examining data for systems flagged as eclipsing binaries, where two stars orbit each other and can eclipse one another from our perspective,” Jake explained in a NASA press release. “Just three days into my internship, I detected a signal from a system called TOI 1338. At first, I thought it was an eclipse of one star by another, but the timing was off. It led me to realize I had found a planet.”
Now named TOI 1338 b, this new planet is the first circumbinary planet identified by TESS. Detecting such planets is notoriously challenging because they orbit two stars instead of one, as our Earth does. The TESS mission relies on observing transits—when a planet passes in front of its star—causing a drop in the star’s brightness. However, TESS can only capture transits when the planet crosses in front of the larger star in the system.
Despite the advanced technology at NASA, sometimes human observation proves invaluable. “These signals can be quite tricky for algorithms to analyze,” remarked Dr. Emily Carter, a research scientist at the SETI Institute and Goddard. “Humans excel at spotting patterns, particularly those that are irregular, like the transits we’re observing in these systems.”
Jake initially mistook the dimming for a stellar eclipse, but his keen observations soon led him to the realization that he was witnessing a planet. He has expressed his enthusiasm for continuing his studies in astronomy and remains connected with his mentors at NASA.
If you’re looking to dive deeper into related topics, check out this insightful article on home insemination techniques here. For expert guidance, visit this resource on family-building options here. Additionally, for more information on effective insemination methods, explore this authority on the topic here.
In summary, Jake Thompson’s discovery of TOI 1338 b not only showcases the potential of young minds in the field of astronomy but also highlights the importance of human observation in scientific endeavors. His journey is a remarkable reminder that innovation and discovery can come from the most unexpected places.