Citizen scientists help confirm giant exoplanet discovery

Backyard astronomers wielding personal telescopes in 10 countries have played a crucial role in confirming the existence of TOI-4465 B, a giant natural gas giant 400 light years from Earth.

International collaboration demonstrates how citizen scientists can directly contribute to cutting-edge astronomy research, thus filling observation gaps that are difficult for even professional observers to hide.

The discovery, published in the journal Astronomy, requires extraordinary coordinated efforts in 14 countries. challenge? Capture planetary transits that occur only once every 102 days, lasting three times a year, each time for about 12 hours.

Compete with time and weather

NASA’s Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS) first considered TOI-4465 B as a possible single transmission event when the planet briefly passed in front of its host star. But confirming the discovery requires at least one additional transit observation – a logistical nightmare given the extended orbit of the Earth.

“The observation windows are very limited. Each transit lasts about 12 hours, but getting 12 darkness in one location is very rare,” explains Zahra Essack, a postdoctoral researcher at the University of New Mexico. The task is even more difficult.

The solution involves coordinating 24 citizen scientists equipped with personal telescopes and supported by professional astronomers and established observatories. The global network provides the continuous coverage required to capture the planet’s elusive transit.

Dense, temperate giant

TOI-4465 B represents an interesting example of planetary diversity in our Milky Way. Confirmed measurements reveal a world with unique characteristics:

• size: The radius is 25% larger than Jupiter
• A large number of: Jupiter’s mass nearly six times
• density: Nearly three times more than Jupiter
• temperature: Due to its mild elliptical track, the range is 375-478 K (200-400°F)

These characteristics place TOI-4465b in relatively unneglected planetary characteristic regions – larger, huge, dense and temperate. Such a long cycle giant is an important bridge between extremely hot Jupiters, which are very close to their stars and the air-conditioning giants in our own solar system.

Discover the infrastructure behind it

Successful collaboration depends on several key programs that enable seamless coordination between professional and amateur astronomers. The Unistellar Citizen Science network provides standardized equipment and data processing capabilities, while the Tess Follow-up Observation Program Subgroup 1 (TFOP SG1) provides a global coordination framework.

“What makes this collaboration effective is the infrastructure behind it,” Essac notes. The TESS Single Human Planet Candidate (TSTPC) task force led by UNM Assistant Professor Diana Dragomir puts together the detection and follow-up expertise necessary for these challenging observations.

Professional astronomers, including students, support photometric determinations, which measure changes in the brightness of the star on the planet in front of it. This combination of citizen scientific enthusiasm and expertise is crucial to the success of discovery.

Fill in key gaps

Long-period exoplanets like TOI-4465 B are underrepresented in the current planetary catalog precisely because they are difficult to detect and confirm. Limited observation opportunities and resource constraints mean that planets over 100 days of orbital periods often slide in cracks in traditional discovery methods.

“Studying these long-term planets has given us an understanding of how planetary systems form and develop under milder conditions,” Essack stressed. These worlds provide a window for planetary formation processes that are farther away from their host stars, in which conditions are more like those in our external solar system.

Future atmospheric research

The combination of the TOI-4465 B’s large size and relatively cool temperatures makes it an ideal target for atmospheric research using advanced telescopes such as the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST). The planet is one of the best-extended extraoperative planets used in emission spectroscopy studies and can reveal detailed information about its atmospheric composition and structure.

This discovery represents the sixth issue of the Huge External Exoplanet Mass (GOT’EM) survey, which aims to characterize long-term transition giant planets through coordinated follow-up observations. As the Citizen Science Network continues to expand, professional-comic collaborations have become increasingly complex, and discoveries such as TOI-4465 B show the power of global collaboration in astronomy research.

Success highlights how enthusiastic astronomy enthusiasts play a direct role in Frontier’s scientific research, expanding our understanding of the far world while bridging the gap between professional observers and the clear skies around the world.

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