Physical Sciences and Mathematics Commons^™

The Utilization Of Exonest In Characterizing Kepler Objects, Nicole Wallack

Physics

With the first detection of an exoplanet, came the study of methods to detect and characterize additional planets. Multiple methods for finding exoplanets were developed, including transit methods. When a star’s flux is being observed for an extended period of time and a slight dip in the relative flux is seen periodically, this may be evidence of a planet passing in front of the star and blocking out a portion of the received flux. It is this method that is employed by the Kepler spacecraft. Kepler observes approximately 100,000 stars looking for periodic decreases in stellar fluxes. From the produced …