Amateur astronomer's data helps scientists discover a new exoplanet

Amateur astronomer's data helps scientists discover a new exoplanet
Finding chart including KPS-1 host star as obtained with the MTM-500 telescope in V band. Credit: Kourovka Planet Search project

Scientists at Kourovka Astronomical Observatory of Ural Federal University have discovered a new exoplanet.

One of the candidates found by the Kourovka Planet Search (KPS) project turned out to be a so-called hot Jupiter. The exoplanet, known as KPS-1b, orbits a star similar to the sun with a period of 40 hours. The mass and size of the exoplanet KPS-1b are close to the characteristics of Jupiter, but it is located very close to its parent star. Due to this proximity, the temperature of the atmosphere on KPS-1b is much higher than that of Jupiter.

Software for analyzing data and searching exoplanet candidates was developed in UrFU. Subsequent observations of exoplanet candidates were conducted in a number of observatories around the world including the Special Astrophysical Observatory of the Russian Academy of Sciences. Spectral observations, which allowed calculating the mass of the exoplanet, were conducted at Haute-Provence Observatory (France).

According to the researchers, the current discovery is unique due to the fact that signs of the (exoplanetary transits) were found in the data gathered by an amateur astronomer using readily available and relatively affordable equipment. The search for new exoplanets, as well as detailed studies of already known , allow scientists to come closer to understanding how our solar system was formed and evolved. The discovery was made in collaboration with astronomers from Belgium, USA, England, France, the Netherlands, Turkey, Portugal, Lithuania, Italy and Canada.

More information: Artem Burdanov et al. KPS-1b: The First Transiting Exoplanet Discovered Using an Amateur Astronomer's Wide-field CCD Data, Publications of the Astronomical Society of the Pacific (2018). DOI: 10.1088/1538-3873/aabde2

Citation: Amateur astronomer's data helps scientists discover a new exoplanet (2018, May 18) retrieved 19 March 2024 from https://phys.org/news/2018-05-amateur-astronomer-scientists-exoplanet.html
This document is subject to copyright. Apart from any fair dealing for the purpose of private study or research, no part may be reproduced without the written permission. The content is provided for information purposes only.

Explore further

New Hot Jupiter marks the first collaborative exoplanet discovery

42 shares

Feedback to editors