Here, for example, is a visual comparison of the transit depths for three planet-sun combinations: a Jupiter-like planet orbiting a Sun-like star, an Earth-like planet orbiting a Sun-like star, and an Earth-like planet orbiting an M-dwarf star:Īnd here are how those same model lightcurves sound when converted to pitches:Īs you can hear, it’s much easier to detect an Earth-sized planet around a small M-dwarf star than around a Sun-like star–the transit depth is almost as deep as a Jupiter-sized planet transiting the Sun! The students heard examples of models of exoplanet transits to learn about how we can tell the size and orbital period of an exoplanet from its light curve. Steward Observatory graduate students Alex Bixel and Ben Rackham and University of Arizona professor Daniel Apai came up with an innovative method to demonstrate exoplanet transits: by translating stellar lightcurves (brightness variations) into piano tunes, all students could easily pick up the events when planets pass in front of their host stars – the sort of transits Project EDEN is searching for. We wanted to find a way that allowed them to get an intuitive sense of the exoplanet transit data – to bring the abstract concept closer to the students’ everyday experiences. Since the Project POEM students have different levels of visual impairment, the traditional data visualization tools were not suitable for demonstrating the concepts to the students. The activity was a collaboration between our EDEN team and Project POEM, which aims to foster interest in STEM careers among visually impaired middle and high school students. Lemmon and introduced them to the methods we are using to find exoplanets.
Earlier this week University of Arizona student Allie Mousseau and graduate student Ben Rackham, members of the EDEN team, welcomed a group of 12 students at the UA Sk圜enter atop Mt.
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