Actually Intrinsic

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Table of Contents 4 Letters From The Editors

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Living//Living Spa

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Alien Worlds Beyond The Stars

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Space Architecture

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Gardening In Space

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Physics of Space Travel

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Makes an Exoplane

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Letters from the Editors Noah

Ian

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My name is Noah Rooff and I am a freshman at LASA High School and play trombone in the LBJ band in addition to running track.

Science and math are my main interests in school. In my spare time, I enjoy reading and playing board games. I don’t specifically know yet what I want to do with my life after the completion of my formal education. I have always been interested in learning new things, and want to learn as much as possible during the course of my life. I hope you learn as much by reading this magazine as I did working on it.

My name is Ian McKenna am a high school student in 9th grade at Liberal Arts and Science Acadamey (LASA) High School with an interest in gardening, astronautical engineering, and meteorology. I love to research about gardening, gardening advancements in space, and weather. I chose to write about gardening in space because I am so passionate about gardening.

I learned about weather, cloud seeding, and tips for gardening in space. These tips are useful for getting around some of the difficulties of gardening in space such as lack of sunlight and decomposers, and getting the plants proper nutrients. In addition to my other research, I learned about different experiments that astronauts and scientists do to try and grow vegetables in space. I want readers to see the possibility of living in space.

Arya

Samuel

My name is Arya Choudhary. I am a freshman at the Liberal Arts and Science Academy (LASA) in Austin, Texas. I enjoy reading, surfing the web, and learning new things. I have developed a stark interest in engineering–more specifically, mechanical engineering and robotics–mostly because of my exposure to technology at a young age. I tend to find structural designs and innovations quite fascinating, which is also why I decided to write about the architectural component of man-made structures in outer-space. With this article, I hope to bring attention to what it takes to put an astronaut up in space (like insulation), something many people tend to look over.

My name is Samuel Larson and am a 9th grade high school student with an interest in computer science and networking. Browsing the internet, I’m constantly finding articles about all sorts of crazy exoplanets out in space that have surface conditions so extreme that they are nothing like Earth or I hear about an exoplanet that could possibly even support life. I chose to write about exoplanets so I could feed my curiosity of the subject and maybe learn a thing or two about how people go about finding these exoplanets in the first place. I learned a few different methods that astronomers use to detect and measure exoplanets as well as a few projects currently underway to make astronomers’ jobs easier.

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The Physics of Space Travel

How We Get From Down Here to Up There

By Noah Rooff

T

The Ares I-X rocket sits on the launch pad. Image courtesy of NASA. Photo Credits: NASA

he rocket blasts up from the launch pad, into the clear blue sky, the smells of its fumes fill the air. This occurrence, becoming more and more common, is a testament to math and physics’ abilities to launch us

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out of the atmosphere.. In 2017, there were 29 rockets launched from the U.S. alone: 10 more than 19 launched in 2007. This shows an evolution in our ability for space travel. As we move into the future, it becomes more important that

we can explore our universe and understand more than just Earth.

Space is a field of new research and innovations in technology and science. All this technology could propel humankind into the future, but physics and mathematics

govern these technologies.

The laws of physics govern our universe, and some of the most fundamental laws were introduced by 17th century physicist Sir Isaac Newton. His three laws are the laws of inertia, acceleration, as well as action and reaction. These laws are essential in understanding how bodies move in any medium.

the opposite direction to get it to slow down or stop.

Another place the third law shows up is in maneuvering a spacecraft.

To get a craft to go to the right, you have to use force that pushes to the left, so that the movement will be right.

Smoke from the Amazon rises up through the atmosphere is seen by the Space Shuttle Discovery on August 31, 1984.

Photo Credits: NASA

The first law states that a body at rest will stay at rest and an object in motion will stay in motion with the same velocity unless acted The force created by the engines upon by an outside force. Basically, causes the rocket to lift up off an object can’t be moved, slowed, the ground. The continued force or stopped without force. allows the rocket to escape Earth’s The second law states, more simply atmosphere and enter space. put, that an object’s acceleration These forces are important in the is directly proportional to the movement of a spacecraft. There magnitude of the force, but isn’t anything to stop a moving inversely proportional to the spacecraft when in space except object’s mass. In other words, it running into something or a the larger the object, the more brake mechanism; it will just keep force is required to move it with going. The second law means that the same acceleration as a less it takes more fuel to get a larger massive object. rocket to lift off. The third law was The third law states that every already explained for getting off action has an equal and opposite the ground, but it also applies in reaction. The classic example for braking. If a craft is heading one this one is a rocket lifting off. way, then there must be force in

“You’ve seen the movies where the space vehicle, spacecraft docks to the space station. It’s like super perfect. It comes in there, it gets there and it’s just like attaches and it’s just a beautiful, perfect thing. It’s usually, at least on the Russian vehicles, it’s not like that at all.”

- Antonio Garza

However, space travel is still imperfect. “You’ve seen the movies where the space vehicle, spacecraft docks to the space station. It’s like super perfect. It comes in there, it gets there and it’s just like attaches and it’s just a beautiful, perfect thing. It’s usually, at least on the Russian vehicles, it’s not like that at all,”said Antonio Garza, the manager of Vehicle Configuration at Johnson Space Center for the International Space Station (ISS) in Houston, Texas.

This means that whenever a spacecraft docks, there has to be precise maneuvering in order to ensure that both the ISS and the spacecraft itself are safe.

Other technologies, such as those used in rockets, are also being improved. These range from booster efficiency or reusability to larger rockets capable of carrying heavier payloads.

Other aspects that affect space travel humans can’t control, such as the weather. “The best time to launch a rocket depends on a blend of things, like the weather,” Will Davis said. However, in the future there may be technological advances that make the weather irrelevant.

One important factor in making sure a rocket will actually make it into space is the amount of

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force required to escape Earth’s gravity. This can be found using mathematics. In a nutshell, the amount of force the rocket is exerting downwards must be enough to both lift it up, and to escape Earth’s gravity. The exact planet it orbits will be.

Space travel is complex, yet based in the simple. It requires great feats of mechanics and engineering to achieve, yet the forces that govern it are a constant that have existed since the beginning of the universe. Mathematics is used to calculate trajectories, and laws that have existed since the beginning of the universe, yet have been known to man less than 500 years, number varies from craft to craft, but the amount of thrust (force) generated to the mass of the rocket is expressed in a thrust-

“The best time to launch a rocket depends on a blend of things, like the weather.”

- Will Davis

to-mass ratio. Some rockets, such as the main engine on the space shuttle, have very high ratios to increase the chance of the rocket reaching its destination safely.

Other rockets have very low ratios.

These ratios still apply when a spacecraft is braking, but slightly adjusted. While it is true that greater opposite thrust is required, the exact amount varies with the current velocity of the craft.

The physics of orbits also plays a part in space travel, especially when the target is another planet or a moon. Using knows equations for orbits, the location of the target at the time the object humans are sending gets there accurately, simplifying the process.

An image of galaxies, from NASA’s Hubble and WISE telescopes. Photo Credits: NASA

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Using these mathematical equations also saves agencies money by being able to cut down on fuel costs and make craft smaller due to the need for less fuel.

A Delta II rocket lifts off, carrying the Suomi NPP Spacecraft on October 28, 2011 at Vandenberg Air Force Base in California.

Photo Credits: NASA

The way these orbital equations are figured out is by using known measurements such as their orbits and how long it takes to complete one revolution. Then by using its current position, scientists can craft a very accurate measurement as to where the object will be at a certain point. However, with moons. The moon’s location has to be calculated in addition to where the still play an important role in how space travel is executed in addition to playing a role in how craft are designed. Mathematics is also in use to figure out how much thrust a given object needs to escape Earth’s gravitational pull, or just to slow it down or stop it.

The laws of physics that govern space travel have existed throughout the history of our universe. They will continue to do so into the future, through more developments in the field. Even if the parameters of the problem change, the laws of physics will always remain constant. The more we can understand about physics and motion, the further we can advance our horizons in the future.

The International Space Station orbits Earth as seen from the Space Shuttle Discovery. Photo Credits: NASA

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A History of Space Travel A Timeline of Major Events and Programs

By Noah Rooff The Earth and Moon, as well as Mars. Each bubble shows major events in the history of of space travel and exploraton for each of these two areas. The sections are independent, and read like a book. Start with the top-left bubble, then go right, then go back down to the next line and repeat!

The Space Shuttle Program ran for about 30 years beginning in 1981 and ending in 2011.

The International Space Station (ISS) is begins construction in 1998. It is completed after about 13 years in 2011.

The Earth and Moon intrinsic 10 spring 18

Mars Today there are 6 operational orbiters around Mars and 2 operational rovers on the surface. Maybe in the future there will be send a manned mission there, but only time will tell.

Sources:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_missions_to_Mars https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Timeline_of_space_exploration https://www.space.com/11078-space-station-complete.html

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Gardening In Space Where is it happening and how is it happening?

By Ian McKenna

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Ever thought about living in space? There are many things one would need to live in space. Items such as water, oxygen, CO2, vegetables, etc.

In space, there is no CO2 for plants to photosynthesize.

For plants to grow, and for anyone in space to get fresh food, growing spaces need to be designed specifically for the abnormal environment.

During the launch, vegetables would get crushed from the force of the acceleration.

When the rocket accelerates, inertia causes the everything to be pushed opposite the direction of motion, damaging vegetables. To be able to have vegetables in space, they need to be grown in space.

A common misconception is that because vegetables aren’t built for space, so they can’t grow in space. This is incorrect. Vegetables can grow in space. In fact, they already have. In 2016, the first harvest was made on the International Space Station (ISS).

This was important because it proved the possibility of growing food in space, and helped progress other ideas, such as a potential Mars colony.

How can a plant grow in space? How do they get everything they need? How can they be taken care of as if they were on Earth? Mars isn’t known for having rain, but clouds can be seeded on other planets.

Cloud seeding is making artificial weather. “They have done seeding experiments in the past because usually clouds or a water vapor, it needs something to condense around which is why, you know, specks of dirt or something like that in here is a good thing to a good helper

to form either cloud droplet or water droplet,” KXAN Meteorologist Rosie Newberry said.

Many things can occur on Earth such as: “Cold snaps damage or destroy crops – tornadoes and hurricanes demolish trees and plants – and extreme heat can bake soil to the point of it not being fertile enough to support plant life,” KXAN Meteorologist David Yeomans said.

On the ISS, there isn’t much natural light. “Seedlings require lots of bright light, and when they don’t receive enough of it they get weak and droopy. Artificial grow lights are a type of artificial sunlight and can help plants grow” Stacy Stagliano, gardener and President of Katie’s Krops, said.

“Yes, there are other life forms in space!”

-Commander Scott Kelly On Earth, the higher you go up in the atmosphere, the more the temperature changes. “Lapse rates are the rate of change of temperature as you go up in height from the surface,” Yeomans explained.

“So I think they’ve sent certain types of metal into the air before to see if they could see clouds and force them into forming. Let’s see, seeding, boilers, experiments and this has really big impacts on global warming, if you want to call that instead of climate change because we still don’t really know how big the im-

pacts of clouds are because water vapor is the most important greenhouse gas we have.

It just has a very short lifespan really. I’ll say all things said and done about nine days in the atmosphere. Most common chemicals used for cloud seeding include silver iodide, potassium iodide and dry ice or solid CO2” Newberry said.

Because of the lack of natural pollinators, other methods have to be used. “Hand pollination/mechanical pollination is an option. This method of pollination is done by manually transferring pollen from the stamen of one plant to the pistil of another. It is not ideal and is very time consuming but when needed it can be an option,” Stagliano explains.

Plants also need nutrients, another thing not naturally found in space. “Compost. First of all, anyone can make it. It is cost effective and because of the unbelievable difference, it makes in overall soil health and soil qualities. Another bonus is you are keeping organic materials out of landfills and using them to make organic fertilizer,” Stagliano said.

“While some countries choose to invest significant amounts of money in trying to control the weather, most if not all of these experiments are unsuccessful. As a general rule, the atmosphere seems to be too vast, three-dimensional, and powerful to care much about our little injections of aerosol, etc. , as we try to make it rain or whatever else,” Yeomans said.

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“As a general rule, the atmosphere seems to be too vast, threedimensional, and powerful to care much about our little injections of aerosol” -David Yeomans Plants also need water, so rain needs to occur artificially. “It’s the same with clouds, moisture instability and lift. You just need it to be so overwhelming that you can get to a point where there’s enough moisture to make it fall from the clouds you need not just at the surface of your planet, but in the lower layers of the atmosphere up to what, 700 millibars you need a lot of moisture because if you don’t have moisture through the entire column, you know, you can have something like virgo where you got right upstairs and then by the time it came down to the ground it was too dry and it evaporates before it hits. So I feel like that would somehow apply on other planets if it was too dry at the surface, you would need good moisture, a couple thousand feet up in the air, ” says Newberry.

“I have not seen firsthand the long-term effects of weather impacting food supply, but you may consider looking into arintrinsic 14 spring 18

eas of the world where climate change is affecting which crops will grow and will no longer grow.

We have certainly seen some changes in certain regions of the world. With that said, severe weather can, in the short-term, certainly affect food supplies on a localized scale,”Yeomans says.

Gardening in space would enable us to create a constant ecosystem on other planets. It would allow colonies to form and save money on transports to bring food to planets. By saving money on transports, more money can be used for space exploration, space travel and colonies. For the plants to survive in space, they need water and sunlight. Cloud seeding could provide a constant water source in an environment where water is scarce, while artificial grow-lights can be used to provide sunlight. Being able to grow produce in space could improve the possibility of living in space.

Greens being harvested and placed into special, space compatible containe.

Photo Credits: NASA.gov

Lettuce growing in in specialized containers

Lettuce samples from the ISS.

Astronauts harvesting lettuce on the ISS

Salad mix growing on ISS.

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Plants need Nutrients to develop proteins, do photosynthesis, and to stay healthy.

Plants need air to stay healthy and produce their sugars.

Plants need sunlight to be able to photosynthesize and get food.

The sunlight is like a fuel. The energy from sunlight is trapped by the plant and used as energy.

Plants need water to grow and to help carry nutrients to the main systems. Water also make it so the plants don’t “droop”.

What do plants need to grow? intrinsic 16 spring 18

What needs to be on other planets?

By: Ian McKenna SUN A planet needs to have enough sun to provide for all types of plants.

WATER A planet need to be able to provide and/ or sustain water for the plants.

CO2 A planet needs to have CO2 and ways to remove O2 for the plants to go through photosynthesis.

NUTRIENTS A planet needs to have the minerals and nutrients for all plants. (Nitrogen, Magnesium, etc.)

Sources: • David Yeomans, Meteorologist KXAN • Rosie Newberry, Meteorologist KXAN • Chris Blazer, Plant Biologist • Stacy Stagliano, President of Katie’s Krops

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Space Architechture

By Arya Choudhary intrinsic 18 spring 18

Building a safe interspace living environment.

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ubterranean tunnels in a distant location that has no history of life carry people to their homes after a long day of work. Homes are simple and minimalistic yet their complexity is like nothing that of which is found anywhere else.

The ether is dark but clear, with stars light millennia away visible to the naked eye. As a race of extra-terrestrial-Earthlings, starting out fresh elsewhere: here, in deep space.

An artistic illustration of the planet Saturn.

Image Credits: Pixabay

As humans have made major technological advancements over the previous century and a half, and as they continue to grow exponentially, research of terrestrial “habitable” planetary bodies has increased as well. For countless years, scientists as well as science fiction writers and enthusiasts have theorized and fantasized – if not believed – that the future of the human race was not on Earth, but rather in deep space. Deep space is the ever-expanding cosmos that exist beyond the Earth-moon system, a system which most people have come to see as the boundaries.

While looking for other places to inhabit, one must consider what would be required to ensure that an Earth-adapted organism will be able to survive healthily in a non-Earth system. Architecture plays a very intrinsic 20 spring 18

big role in creating structures that can withstand the environment and protect living as well as inanimate objects that are stored inside.

Matthew Fajkus, an awardwinning Austin-based architect who focuses on integrated sustainability, said “It is likely inevitable that humankind will occupy outer space more over time, and as such, architecture and the creating of functional and experiential will almost necessarily be a part of that.”

The future is humans living on extraterrestrial bodies, but there is a more specific reason why the future of humankind is not proposed to be on Earth. According to theoretical physicist Stephen Hawking, humans must prepare – within the next 100 years – to leave earth. Hawking believed that a number of future catastrophes could trigger the mass evacuation of earth, such as climate change, overpopulation and the misuse of technology.

“It is likely inevitable that humankind will occupy outer space more over time” -Matthew Fajkus Climate change is more-orless caused by overpopulation as well as incorrect waste disposal, toxic emissions, and other detrimental things that are done to the environment.

All of these issues were creat-

ed by man itself and it may be too late to fix them.

While the exoplanets that humans are likely to inhabit in the future are most likely going to have conditions similar to those on Earth, it is important to begin thinking about creating housing units that mimic the conditions of Earth more closely to help humans that are adapted to Earth slowly adapt to the new planet and its own atmosphere.

One must also consider to attempt to not demolish any previous colonies formed; after all, humans are quite parasitic.

Humans must begin implementing sustainable architecture in their everyday lives on Earth itself to see less of a strain forced onto the planet.

“Sustainable architecture, in the most basic sense, is meant to sustain and be long-lasting, considering social, financial and environmental impacts,” Fajkus said It can be implemented at numerous sites and can be flexible to adaptation in numerous environments, as well as in deep space. Sustainable architecture can grow into beautifully complex designs as well as purposes of buildings because of the different targets of focus.

“Sustainable principles would indeed be applied for humans in a different environment, and it is arguably more important since the notion of self-sufficiency is even more critical in a place where resources of water, plants and oxygen are even more limited,” Fajkus explains.

“It has the potential to improve our current way of living while not compromising the life of future populations.”

comparatively easy feat to accomplish. Having humans live in space for an extended period of time gets exponentially tricky.

Algal blooms cased by nutrient imbalances in a dam.

Photo Credits: EPA.gov

An excellent example of humans currently managing to live in space with the proper tools and preparation can be found at the International Space Station.

“In order to keep them alive and functioning in space they have to exercise and be fed nutrients. In space they’re in a micro-gravity or zero gravity environment, which leads to bone loss so they have to exercise to prevent that. We don’t grow any food on orbit so we have to fly food on each of our launch vehicles. We recover water from urine, we recover water from when you exhale, there’s moisture content in what you exhale. We recover that from the air, and then we generate water through different chemical processes by using exhaled carbon dioxide,” McDougal explains.

Along with being able to start a human-colony without causing detrimental effects, like on planet Earth, it is important to use structural knowledge and engineering to keep living organisms alive while in foreign space; especially astronauts that utilize the opportunity to research in a different environment. The International Space Station (ISS) is located in the orbit of Earth. One could use the technological advancements on the ISS to design a safe living space for humans in the near future.

There are many different engineering skills that are needed to design the ISS. The Mission Evaluation Room (MER), manages and helps the integration of the different engineering disciplines. Team members must respond to anomalies that occur on orbit. They control the environmental systems, thermal systems, power systems, as well as structural systems. The MER is quite similar to the Flight Control Room, the room often shown in science-fiction movies, except it manages the different structural aspects of the ISS. ISS Mission Evaluation Room Manager Alan McDougal emphasizes that simply going into space and coming back down without much time spent is a

get blocked out by the atmosphere or burned up upon entry into it. To avoid the harmful effects of radiation, engineers have created a layering system consisting of an intricate pressure system as well as Kevlar blankets and other insulation materials.

It is imperative for engineers and architects, alike, to take into consideration the distinctive environment of deepspace. They would have to extensively study the environment that they plan to start creating man-made structures on to improve the likelihood of humans permanently residing at the location without needing to evacuate, as it soon may happen on Earth. After all, as Hawking said, “Our only chance of long-term survival is not to remain inward-looking on planet Earth, but to spread out into space.”

In addition to the life-sustaining arrangements made aboard the ISS, a source of energy is quite important. To provide power on the football-field-sized orbiting station, engineers have designed eight massive solar-arrays to generate power from the sun.

While the arrays harness some C of the energy of the sun, the ge a Im astronauts must be protected ce. a from the harmful radiation as Sp in n well as micro-meteoroids or tio space debris that don’t igura f normally reach hu- Con mans on Earth tation S because ace p they nal S o

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When planning an extra-terrestrial future for humans, the integral design and structure of housing and storage units must change to accomodate the new environment, which has new challenges that

current architechture may face.

The design above is similar to what would be the blueprints of a human-made “colony� located on a terrestrial body: a planet or moon.

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living space

By Arya Choudhary Compared to sharp, pointed objects, round objects prevent the buildup of stress, tension, and pressure; hence such dome structures being used as housing units.

External Protection Layers: 1.

2.

3.

4.

External Thermal Blanket Module Shielding Kevlar Restraint Layer Redundant Bladders

Internal Layers:

}

• Protects from micro-meteroids • Made from materials such as Kevlar, titanium, and other impact-ressistant materials • Amounts to ~10cm thick

1. Inner Pressure Walls The pressure walls imitate the conditions of the weight of air that of Earth. These walls can push up to 15 pounds of force into the inside of the module

Sources • • •

https://science.nasa.gov/science-news/science-at-nasa/2001/ast14mar_1 http://spacearchitect.org/publications/ https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/research/index.html

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Alien Worlds From Beyond The Stars The Science of Exoplanets and how to find them

By Samuel Larson

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ave you ever looked up at the night sky and wondered if there were aliens out in the universe?

Astronomers are discovering alien planets orbiting alien stars if not little green men. Many stars in the universe have planets orbiting it, making a solar system. These alien planets can be very different from any planet inside of our solar system. There are ice worlds, water worlds, even worlds that have conditions that could support life!

Throughout the universe there is an uncountable number of stars, and like our own Sun some of those stars have planets orbiting them. Those planets are called “Exoplanets”. Scientists have been taking data from exoplanets they observe to try and determine what the environment is like on them and if any of them could possibly support life!

The first exoplanet was discovered on January 2, 1992, and since then we have discovered 3,740 more. Exoplanets aren’t necessarily special, “An exoplanet is just a planet that is

not inside our local solar system that orbits an alien star rather than the sun,” said William Cochran.

Scientists have learned the factors that decide what the environment on a planet is like by studying exoplanets “there are many factors that go into determining the environment of what an Exoplanet is like. The atmosphere could trap a lot of heat, or be so thin that no gases can be held on the planet. The planet could even be made out of gas, like jupiter. The orbit of the exoplanet also plays a pivotal role in determining the environment of an exoplanet...” stated Michael Endl. There are many factors that go into determining the environment of an exoplanet but some of the most notable are temperature, mass, and atmosphere.

But the host star can be just as important as the planet itself in contributing to the kind of exoplanet it would be. “On Earth our magnetic field protects us from the solar radiation particles that our sun it is constantly emitting, we call that solar wind,” Michael

Endl said. Some planets orbit a strong host star or have no magnetic and are bombarded with constant solar radiation from its star.

“An exoplanet is just a planet that is not inside our local solar system that orbits an alien star rather than the sun” -William Cochron

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This solar radiation can also make the planet virtually uninhabitable for any form of life that we know of. “But EarthLike does not mean they could support life. Proxima Centauri B orbits a star that frequently emits very strong solar radiation that could damage the DNA of any life on the planet or even kill all life on the planet easily. Ross 128 however orbits a calmer red dwarf star and is likely to be much better suited for life than other Earth like exoplanets that have been discovered,” Michael Endl said.

Similarity Index. The higher it is on the scale, the more similar it is to earth.” Michael Endl states. Earth like Exoplanets are rather rare and finding one that is very similar can be a big deal. Currently the Exoplanet that we have discovered with the highest ESI (Earth Similarity Index) is Kepler-438b with an ESI of 0.88. For comparison, the moon has an ESI of 0.56.

A planet with a high ESI value sounds promising but that does not mean it would be comfortable for you to stand on it unprotected.

Earth-like Exoplanets are being discovered by scientists everyday and are an area of interest for astronomers curious on how Earth was formed. These planets are rated on a special scale to rate them by their similarity to Earth “Earth like exoplanets are scaled in similarity on a scale called the Earth

But why are astronomers so interested in Exoplanets?“It’s important to know about exoplanets because conducting experiments on data collected from large sets of exoplanets will help us determine what planets as a whole are like in the universe.” according to G. Fritz Benedict. The more we know about the universe around us the more we can understand about how we are different than the norm and what makes us different from the other solar systems out there in the universe. “Exoplanets also allow us to understand what the universe is like as a whole, our own solar system is a very small set of data compared to the astronomical number of star systems (in space).” says Michael Endl. We are a statistical anomaly in the universe where everything just happened to line up just right for life to develop. If we don’t understand how solar systems in the universe that aren’t as special as ours work then we are going to make improper assumptions about what the average solar system is like.

“Earth like exoplanets are scaled in similarity on a scale called the Earth Similarity Index. The higher it is on the scales, the more similar it is to Earth” -Michael Endl

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Studying exoplanets gives us more data to compare our own solar system to and we understand more about ourselves as a result.

Another reason that astronomers study exoplanets is to start collecting data for when we have to leave the planet as the sun expands to engulf the Earth.

Having a large set of data already available to everyone before this happens will improve humanity’s survival chance when time comes to pass and the event starts to occur Astronomers have multiple methods for finding new exoplanets. One of the most popular methods is to take advantage of the slight wobble that orbiting exoplanets cause in their parent star. “We have multiple methods for identifying exoplanets out in space.

One such method is to try to see if the star wobbles a little bit as the planet orbits around it. All things with mass cause a distortion in the space time.

So exoplanets cause their host star to wobble a little bit in an elliptical motion. From this wobble we can tell if a star has planets orbiting around it and even how massive those planets (could) be.” explains Michael Endl.

Not only can astronomers take advantage of star wobbling, they can also detect changes in luminosity of stars to see if there are planets passing between their parent star and Earth.

“We have multiple methods for identifying exoplanets out in space. One such method is to try to see if the star wobbles a little bit as the planet orbits around it.”

“Another way that one is able to detect exoplanets called Transit Photometry. Some exoplanets are too far away to be able to get accurate measurements through the Radial Velocity Method.

The Transit Photometry methods makes use of the small variations in the brightness of the star relative to the earth as the exoplanet passes between the earth and the star. The more it dims, the more massive the exoplanet is.” Michael Endl states. This method will work on even the most distant stars, but oftentimes cannot be used because many exoplanets have orbits that don’t put it between their host star and Earth.

Exoplanets are everywhere in the universe and the data we collect today will give us a better understanding of how planets are formed in the universe and help us in the future.

Astronomers are cooperating to find new exoplanets every day and they don’t seem to be showing signs of slowing down even yet. The universe is unimaginably big and there’s plenty of data to sort through.

-Michael Endl

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What Makes an Exoplanet?

Factors That Define Exoplanets

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Orbit

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The orbit of an exoplanet can greatly affect surface temperature

Other factors (such as other celestial objects in the system its in) can affect it.

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Crazy Planets Exoplanets are often crazyy. on HD 189733b it rains glass sideways!

Over 3,728 Exoplanets Have been found!

Fun Facts

Exoplanets

Exoplanets are everywhere in the universe!

There are many Exoplanets that are similar to earth!

Earthlike Planets

Not all Exoplanets Orbit stars! Rouge Planets Drift throug space with no orbit!

Adrift in space

Exoplanets are celestial bodies classified as planets that do not orbit the Sun

What is an Exoplanet

Exoplanets can be very different from each other!

“The Moon is a friend for the lonesome to talk to�

--Carl Sandburg

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