高中生們發(fā)現(xiàn)了四顆新的系外行星，其中包括一顆超級(jí)地球

高中生們發(fā)現(xiàn)了四顆新的系外行星，其中包括一顆超級(jí)地球

Four exoplanets have been discovered around star TOI-1233 by two high schoolers, making them among the youngest people to have ever discovered a celestial body.

兩名高中生在TOI-1233恒星周?chē)l(fā)現(xiàn)了四顆系外行星，使他們成為發(fā)現(xiàn)天體最年輕的人之一。

Sixteen-year-old Kartik Pinglé and 18-year-old Jasmine Wright were participating in the Student Research Mentoring Program (SRMP) at the Center for Astrophysics | Harvard & Smithsonian, mentored by Dr Tansu Daylan, a?postdoc at the MIT Kavli Institute for Astrophysics and Space Research. They are now co-authors on a paper reporting the discovery published in?The Astronomical Journal

16歲的Kartik Pinglé和18歲的Jasmine Wright參加了哈佛和史密森尼天體物理中心|的學(xué)生研究指導(dǎo)計(jì)劃(SRMP)，導(dǎo)師是Tansu Daylan博士，他是麻省理工學(xué)院Kavli天體物理和空間研究研究所的博士后?。他們現(xiàn)在共同撰寫(xiě)了一篇論文，報(bào)告了這一發(fā)現(xiàn)，發(fā)表在?《天文雜志》上。

TOI-1233 is one of the stars being studied by NASA’s planet-hunting Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS). The satellite studies hundred of thousands of stars hoping to catch the tell-tale flickering that suggests a planet is passing between us and them. ?

TOI-1233是美國(guó)宇航局的行星搜尋凌日系外行星勘測(cè)衛(wèi)星(TESS)正在研究的恒星之一。這顆衛(wèi)星研究了成千上萬(wàn)顆恒星，希望捕捉到表明有行星正從我們和它們之間經(jīng)過(guò)的閃爍信號(hào)。?

Dr Alfredo Carpineti

"We were looking to see changes in light over time," Pinglé explained in a?statement. "The idea being that if the planet transits the star, or passes in front of it, it would [periodically] cover up the star and decrease its brightness."

Pinglé在?聲明中解釋道:“我們希望看到光線隨時(shí)間的變化。這個(gè)想法是，如果行星越過(guò)恒星，或從恒星前面經(jīng)過(guò)，它會(huì)(周期性地)掩蓋恒星并降低其亮度。”

The team found this to be the case for TOI-1233. To their surprise, they saw evidence of not one but multiple planets. Three of these objects are expected to be gaseous planets a bit smaller than Neptune, classified as sub-Neptunes. There is also what looks like a large rocky planet that is believed to be a super-Earth.

研究小組發(fā)現(xiàn)TOI-1233的情況也是如此。令他們驚訝的是，他們發(fā)現(xiàn)了不止一個(gè)而是多個(gè)行星存在的證據(jù)。其中三顆被認(rèn)為是比海王星小一點(diǎn)的氣態(tài)行星，被歸類(lèi)為亞海王星。還有一顆看起來(lái)像大型巖石行星，被認(rèn)為是“超級(jí)地球”。

"I was very excited and very shocked," Wright said of the discovery. "We knew this was the goal of Daylan's research, but to actually find a multi-planetary system, and be part of the discovering team, was really cool."

“我非常興奮，也非常震驚，”賴(lài)特談到這一發(fā)現(xiàn)時(shí)說(shuō)。“我們知道這是戴蘭研究的目標(biāo)，但能真正找到一個(gè)多行星系統(tǒng)，并成為發(fā)現(xiàn)團(tuán)隊(duì)的一員，真的很酷。”

Discovering multi-planetary systems like this is very important. Even though TOI-1233 is radically different from our own corner of the galaxy, it can provide important insights into how the solar system came to be.

發(fā)現(xiàn)這樣的多行星系統(tǒng)非常重要。盡管TOI-1233與我們?cè)阢y河系的角落完全不同，但它可以為了解太陽(yáng)系是如何形成的提供重要的見(jiàn)解。

"Our species has long been contemplating planets beyond our solar system and with multi-planetary systems, you're kind of hitting the jackpot," Daylan explained. "The planets originated from the same disk 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 planet formation and evolution using this planetary system."

戴蘭解釋說(shuō):“我們的物種長(zhǎng)期以來(lái)一直在研究太陽(yáng)系以外的行星，以及多行星系統(tǒng)，這有點(diǎn)像中了頭彩。”“這兩顆行星起源于同一顆恒星周?chē)耐晃镔|(zhì)盤(pán)，但由于軌道不同，它們最終成為不同的行星，擁有不同的大氣和不同的氣候。所以，我們希望通過(guò)這個(gè)行星系統(tǒng)了解行星形成和進(jìn)化的基本過(guò)程。”

The mentoring program, directed by astrochemist Dr Clara Sousa-Silva, aims to connect local high school students who are interested in scientific research with real-world scientists at Harvard and MIT.? It accepts a dozen students per year, prioritizing those from underrepresented minorities in science, who carry our paid research working with mentors on a year-long project.

該指導(dǎo)項(xiàng)目由天體化學(xué)家Clara Sousa-Silva博士指導(dǎo)，旨在將對(duì)科學(xué)研究感興趣的當(dāng)?shù)馗咧猩c哈佛大學(xué)和麻省理工學(xué)院的現(xiàn)實(shí)世界的科學(xué)家聯(lián)系起來(lái)。?它每年招收十來(lái)名學(xué)生，優(yōu)先錄取那些在科學(xué)領(lǐng)域代表性不足的少數(shù)族裔學(xué)生，他們?cè)趯?dǎo)師的指導(dǎo)下進(jìn)行為期一年的有償研究。

"They are salaried scientists," Sousa-Silva explained. "We want to encourage them that pursuing an academic career is enjoyable and rewarding—no matter what they end up pursuing in life."

“他們是拿薪水的科學(xué)家，”索薩-席爾瓦解釋說(shuō)。“我們想要鼓勵(lì)他們，無(wú)論他們最終在生活中追求什么，追求學(xué)術(shù)事業(yè)都是愉快和值得的。”

Over the last few years,?several teens?have gotten involved in exoplanetary research discovering?hot Jupiters, as well planets?orbiting binary stars.

在過(guò)去的幾年里，?幾個(gè)青少年?參與了系外行星研究發(fā)現(xiàn)?熱木星，以及行星?軌道雙星。