Jump to content

First exoplanet candidate fully discovered by amateur astronomers


Recommended Posts

Posted (edited)

We report the discovery of a new exoplanet candidate orbiting the star GJ 3470. A total of three transits were detected by OKSky Observatory: the first one on December 23, 2019, the second one on February 27, 2020, and the third one on May 3, 2020. We estimate an average transit depth of 0.84 percent and duration of 1 hour and 2 minutes. Based on this parameter, we calculate a radius of 9.2 Earth radii, which would correspond to the size of a Saturn-like exoplanet. We also estimate an orbital period of 66 days that places the exoplanet inside the habitable zone, near the orbital distance at Earths equivalent radiation. Another twelve potential transits that do not belong to GJ 3470 b are also reported. Despite our candidate for GJ 3470 c still has to be confirmed by the scientific community, the discovery represents a turning point in exoplanet research for being the first candidate discovered through an international project managed by amateur astronomers.ç

Sources:

https://arxiv.org/abs/2007.07373

http://exoplanet.eu/catalog/gj_3470_b/

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCdDS4j318UpKjNcpe_LeQxQ/community

Edited by alfa015
×
×
  • Create New...

Important Information

We have placed cookies on your device to help make this website better. You can adjust your cookie settings, otherwise we'll assume you're okay to continue.