Exploring Exoplanets Online

OBJECTIVE
Explore the latest informtion about explanets.

PROCEDURES
Exoplanet discoveries are occurring so rapidly that to learn the latest about them you should explore the Web for results of searches for exoplanets and young solar systems.

1. Find examples of star systems in the different phases believed to have occurred in the formation of the Solar System, starting with an interstellar cloud. There are visible and infrared images of protoplanetary disks in the Hubble Space Telescope archive, and microwave observations of disks around young stars being made by the ALMA telescope. Search for estimates of the ages of the stars in each example and see if you can fit them into a planetary-system formation timeline.
2. For established exoplanetary systems, imaging is extremely difficult, but the field is rapidly advancing. Try searching for exoplanet information with “Direct Imaging” as part of your search
3. There are several databases maintaining catalogs of exoplanets discovered to date. Several of these allow you to plot the results so you can study trends in exoplanet properties. NASA maintains a detailed database at exoplanetarchive.ipac.caltech.edu
4. For plotting exoplanet properties, you may find the database at exoplanets.org somewhat easier-to-use. Try isolating data from different kinds of search methods (such as transit versus microlensing versus radial velocity surveys) to learn about the strengths and weaknesses of each kind of survey method.
5. Perhaps most fun is to look through the press releases about interesting and exotic discoveries of exoplanets. Many news stories tend to contain a lot of hyperbole and oversimplification to attract attention. Statements such as “On this planet you would celebrate a birthday every 4 days,” for example, mean that the exoplanet has a period of 4 days. Hunt for the original press releases and see if you can learn more about the actual properties of the exoplanet in astronomical terms and the actual data that suggest it is unusual.