How NASA Citizen Science Fuels Future Exoplanet Research

NASA is gearing up for groundbreaking research into exoplanets—planets that exist beyond our solar system—with its upcoming flagship missions: the Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope and the Habitable Worlds Observatory. With over 5,000 exoplanets already confirmed and the scientific belief that there is at least one exoplanet for every star in the universe, this exploration is just beginning. These missions may find exoplanets not only with the help of professional astronomers but also with the participation of citizen scientists—enthusiasts from the general public.

Citizen science has played a significant role in the study of exoplanets. NASA's TESS (Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite) mission, along with the retired Kepler mission, has been instrumental in exoplanet discovery, making the majority of these findings to date. These missions implemented an open science approach, releasing their observations to the public immediately after processing, thus inviting public participation in NASA’s exoplanet studies.

The Planet Hunters TESS project encourages the public to participate by classifying exoplanet light curves from TESS data online. Similarly, Exoplanet Watch enables citizen scientists to collect information on known exoplanets and submit their findings to NASA's public data archive. If their data contributes to a scientific paper, participants receive credit. Exoplanet Watch also provides data from robotic telescopes, allowing individuals to contribute without needing their own telescopes.



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