Blog

Explore the radius gap—the mysterious absence of planets between 1.5-2 Earth radii. Learn how photoevaporation & atmospheric loss shape planetary populations.

Explore the diverse exoplanet types—Hot Jupiters, Super-Earths, and Mini-Neptunes—and discover what citizen science reveals about the galaxy's planetary populations.

Discover how citizen scientists are reshaping research through major discoveries. From Galaxy Zoo to Planet Hunters, learn the real impact of volunteer science.

Explore how TESS space telescope data is cleaned and processed to reveal exoplanets hidden in noise, from SAP to PDCSAP and advanced detrending techniques.

Explore how NASA's open data policy enables citizen scientists to discover exoplanets using MAST archives, Exoplanet Archive, and free tools like lightkurve.

Discover how Box Least Squares (BLS) detects exoplanets by matching transit shapes in noisy light curves, from grid searching to statistical thresholds.

Discover how JWST's infrared spectroscopy is revolutionizing exoplanet atmospheric analysis and the role citizen science plays in target selection for breakthrough discoveries.

Explore the architecture of planet-finding pipelines that detect exoplanets in massive datasets. Learn how S.O.L.A.R.I.S. processes millions of TESS observations with parallel algorithms and automated validation.

Learn how OBAFGKM spectral classification, the H-R diagram, and stellar properties shape exoplanet discovery and habitable zone location around distant stars.

Discover how NASA's TESS mission surveys the sky for exoplanets around nearby bright stars, and why citizen science accelerates discoveries from its public data archive.

Learn how the Earth Similarity Index scores exoplanets, what ESI ranges mean for habitability, and why this metric has both power and limits.

Learn how equilibrium temperature reveals exoplanet surface conditions, its limitations in assessing habitability, and why the greenhouse effect matters.

Learn how MCMC fitting reveals exoplanet properties with precision, including convergence diagnostics, parameter correlations, and uncertainty quantification.

Explore how NASA's Kepler telescope revolutionized exoplanet science, discovering 2,700+ planets and revealing that billions of Earth-sized worlds orbit distant stars.

Explore the next generation of exoplanet observatories: PLATO, ARIEL, Roman, and ground-based ELTs. Discover how future space telescopes will find habitable worlds.

Learn how radial velocity detects exoplanets through stellar wobble. Explore Doppler shifts, why it complements transits, and how it reveals planetary mass.

Learn how astronomers distinguish real exoplanets from false positives caused by eclipsing binaries, starspots, and instrumental artifacts in transit surveys.

Explore how tidally locked exoplanets with permanent day and night sides could harbor life through atmospheric heat redistribution and habitable terminator zones.

Explore multi-planet systems like TRAPPIST-1, from transit timing variations and orbital resonances to the signals of gravitational choreography between worlds.

Explore how planets form from dust in protoplanetary disks through core accretion, gravitational instability, and orbital migration—and what exoplanet observations reveal about formation history.

M-dwarf (red dwarf) stars are the best targets for discovering habitable exoplanets. Learn why their close-in habitable zones, frequent transits, and deep dips make Earth-like planet detection easier, and how S.O.L.A.R.I.S. focuses on M-dwarfs.

What are biosignatures and how do scientists detect signs of life on exoplanets? Learn about O2/CH4 disequilibrium, chlorophyll red edge, transmission spectroscopy, James Webb capabilities, and how S.O.L.A.R.I.S. flags biosignature candidates.

A recap of the S.O.L.A.R.I.S. project's first week — from first light on March 5 to discovering 54 exoplanet candidates including a 98.3% Earth-like world.

From SETI@Home to Folding@Home to S.O.L.A.R.I.S., volunteer computing has powered groundbreaking science for decades. Learn the history of distributed citizen science computing and how you can join the newest project discovering exoplanets.

Learn how volunteers are using spare computing power to discover habitable exoplanets in NASA TESS data. Step-by-step guide to joining S.O.L.A.R.I.S., the citizen science exoplanet search that has found 54 planets across 35,000+ stars.

The transit method is the most productive technique for discovering exoplanets. Learn how light curve dips reveal distant worlds, what transits tell us about planet size, temperature, and orbital period, and how S.O.L.A.R.I.S. uses this method on TESS data.

What is a light curve and how do astronomers read them? Learn about time series photometry, transit dips, noise sources, BLS detection, TESS 2-minute cadence data, and how S.O.L.A.R.I.S. processes light curves to discover exoplanets.

What makes a planet habitable? Learn about the habitable zone (Goldilocks zone), Earth Similarity Index, biosignatures like O2/CH4 disequilibrium, and how S.O.L.A.R.I.S. found a 98.3% Earth-like candidate.