![]() ![]() In 2020, there was a series of three papers that came out at the same time that confirmed the TOI-700 system. A large fraction will be, though, and it’s our job to confirm them. There are almost 10,000 exoplanet candidates, but those aren’t all going to turn out to be planets. Can you share a little bit of the background there? You were also part of the team that originally confirmed the TOI-700 system in 2020. We use the analogy of a fly moving in front of a spotlight. When we look at one of those stars, we can also see if a planet moves between the star and the satellite, blocking out just a little bit of the star’s light. With TESS, we are observing more than 100 million stars across the night sky. How does one go about discovering an exoplanet? Having a close and bright host star allows us to achieve the sensitivity needed to measure key aspects like the mass of the planets and the composition of a planet’s atmosphere. TOI-700 is really close to us - about 100 light years away. Some of those other systems are farther away and their stars are fainter. This system is very accessible in comparison to other candidates or TESS Objects of Interest, TOIs. The host star, TOI-700, is well-suited for these characterization efforts. The discovery of TOI-700 e provides a valuable opportunity for detailed follow-up studies, as it is one of the only systems known with two small planets in the star’s habitable zone. Rodriguez, an exoplanet expert at MSU, sat down to answer some questions to help explain this discovery and the research behind it. Its Earth-sized sibling, TOI-700 d, can be seen in the distance. Newly discovered Earth-sized planet TOI-700 e orbits within the habitable zone of its star in this illustration. Gilbert, Rodriguez and Andrew Vanderburg, an assistant professor of physics at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, spearheaded the current project, which included researchers from dozens of “That makes the TOI-700 system an exciting prospect for additional follow-up.” “This is one of only a few systems with multiple, small, habitable-zone planets that we know of,” said Gilbert. With the new discovery, the team showed that the TOI-700 system has two Earth-sized planets within its habitable zone. The duo is also part of the original team that confirmed the TOI-700 system in 2020, finding it had at least three planets (named TOI-700 b, TOI-700 c and TOI-700 d). Rodriguez was one of the senior researchers on the project, led by Emily Gilbert, a postdoctoral fe llow at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Southern California. “Eve n with more than 5,000 exoplanets discovered to date, TOI-700 e is a key example that we have a lot more to learn,” said Joey Rodriguez, an assistant professor in the Department of Physics and Astronomy at M SU, who helped make the discovery. ![]() ![]() The discovery of TOI-700 e, along with the earlier confirmation of its host system, could provide unique opportunities to better explore exoplanets going forward. Michigan State University Assistant Professor Joey Rodriguez, who helped spearhead the project that discovered the Earth-sized exoplanet TOI-700 eĪstronomers believe that many such planets exist in our galaxy and across the universe. ![]()
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