Project Title: Exoplanets and their Properties
BASIS Advisor: Josh Winter
Internship Location: Mississippi University (remote)
Onsite Mentor: Dr. Angelle Tanner
Over 5,300 exoplanets have been confirmed in our universe as of March 1st, 2023. We can also see an estimated 8 × 1019 stars from Earth, only about 4% of the total stars in the observable universe. It is significantly harder to detect planets than stars because planets don’t give off light. Astrophysicists have no idea how many planets exist in our universe, but there are likely just as many planets as there are stars. That leaves billions of trillions of planets to be discovered, and I am contributing to that search through my Senior Project. The ultimate goal of this project is to graph and discover a new exoplanet using NASA telescope data and the transit method of exoplanet detection. In order to do so, I am working with Dr. Angelle Tanner, a professor at Mississippi State, along with NASA’s Exoplanet watch to access the telescope archives, to develop a series of light curves with the data, and confirm the existence of new planets. This project will include an in-depth research paper on the history of exoplanet research and an analysis of my own research as well as a detailed graph of my findings. Exoplanet research is vital to directing new telescopes with targeted data, discovering extraterrestrial life, and truly understanding our universe.
My Posts
Week 12: Reflections and Deliverables
Jun 19, 2023
Hello everyone and welcome to my last blog! I wanted to share a link to my senior project presentation here: Maren W_ Final SP Presentation I also wanted to link my final deliverable which expands upon the research I discussed in my blog so far. It also includes extended conclusions and explanations sections on the […]
Week 11: Calculations
Jun 09, 2023
Hello and welcome back to my blog! This week was super busy but I managed to finish all of the calculations for Qatar-2 b and TrES-3 b. Astronomers very rarely calculate this data by hand. Instead, they use code such as EXOFAST (NASA uses this one) to take the lightcurve results from EXOTIC and return […]
Week 10: Stellar, Planetary, and Transit Parameters
Jun 09, 2023
Hello and welcome back to my blog! For week 10, I spent a lot of time with my On-site advisor, Dr. Tanner, working to understand all the equations and calculations I’ll be completing. I made a chart depicting the different values or parameters: Symbol Parameter Units What is it? M* Stellar Mass Msun The mass […]
Week 9: The Math of Astronomy
May 26, 2023
Hello and welcome back to my blog! This week I completed my Yale course: Frontiers and Controversies in Astrophysics. It was a very good overview of modern exoplanet science and the different methods of detection, and I would definitely recommend the course to those interested in learning more. I also completed my Python for Astronomers […]
Week 8: Problems and Solutions
May 19, 2023
Hello! This week introduced me to some of the problems astronomers encounter in their research. As I’ve discussed in blogs prior, I have been having trouble developing a light curve for Tres-2 b. First, the problem was a couple of corrupted files that skewed the data. I worked with Dr. Tanner and Dr. Robert Zellum, […]
Weeks 6 + 7: Astronomy at Home
May 12, 2023
Hello and welcome back to my blog! My on-site team is still waiting on the WASP-31 b data from the Las Cumbres Observatory so unfortunately, I don’t have any updates on that. The Tres-2 b analysis is also still underway as there was an issue with the EXOTIC software. However, I have been working hard […]
Week 5: Qatar-2 b
May 02, 2023
This week I submitted my data request for WASP-31 b from the Las Cumbres Observatory, which is a collection of telescopes placed all around the world. I predicted that they would get back to me with the telescope data quickly but they are backed up more than usual so it might be a couple of […]
Week 4: EXOTIC
Apr 25, 2023
Welcome back to my blog! This week I was preparing for my research into WASP-31 B by familiarizing myself with NASA’s EXOTIC Software. EXOTIC stands for EXOplanet Transit Interpretation Code, and it basically converts the raw data from telescopes about the relative brightness of stars over a certain period of time into pictures that astronomers […]
Week 3: Exoplanet Archive Analysis
Apr 15, 2023
Hello again! This week was spring break for the University of Mississippi, so I wasn’t able to meet with my on-site advisor. This unfortunately means no WASP-31 b updates just yet. However, I did do some fascinating research on exoplanet archives from both NASA and the European Union exoplanet catalog to see what information is […]
Week 2: Different Methods of Detection
Apr 07, 2023
Welcome back to my blog! This week I was able to meet with my on-site advisor, Dr. Tanner and her team to finalize the plans for the rest of the project. I will be working with her current exoplanet team of one graduate, one undergraduate, and one high school student to answer a series of […]
Week 1: The Transit Method
Mar 31, 2023
Welcome back to my Senior Project blog! At the beginning of this week, I planned the independent research portion of my project. This will take the form of an in-depth research paper on the history of exoplanet discovery and my predictions of where it will go in the future as well as a comprehensive research […]
Week 0
Mar 17, 2023
Welcome to my Senior Project blog! My name is Maren Willard, and I have been going to BASIS Independent Brooklyn since 5th grade. For my Senior Project, I am diving into exoplanet research to discover new planets in our universe and develop a deeper understanding of the path that future exploration will take. I have […]