高中生们发现了四颗新的系外行星，其中包括一颗超级地球

高中生们发现了四颗新的系外行星，其中包括一颗超级地球

Four exoplanets have been discovered around star TOI-1233 by two high schoolers, making them among the youngest people to have ever discovered a celestial body.

两名高中生在TOI-1233恒星周围发现了四颗系外行星，使他们成为发现天体最年轻的人之一。

Sixteen-year-old Kartik Pinglé and 18-year-old Jasmine Wright were participating in the Student Research Mentoring Program (SRMP) at the Center for Astrophysics | Harvard & Smithsonian, mentored by Dr Tansu Daylan, a postdoc at the MIT Kavli Institute for Astrophysics and Space Research. They are now co-authors on a paper reporting the discovery published in The Astronomical Journal

16岁的Kartik Pinglé和18岁的Jasmine Wright参加了哈佛和史密森尼天体物理中心|的学生研究指导计划(SRMP)，导师是Tansu Daylan博士，他是麻省理工学院Kavli天体物理和空间研究研究所的博士后 。他们现在共同撰写了一篇论文，报告了这一发现，发表在 《天文杂志》上。

TOI-1233 is one of the stars being studied by NASA’s planet-hunting Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS). The satellite studies hundred of thousands of stars hoping to catch the tell-tale flickering that suggests a planet is passing between us and them.  

TOI-1233是美国宇航局的行星搜寻凌日系外行星勘测卫星(TESS)正在研究的恒星之一。这颗卫星研究了成千上万颗恒星，希望捕捉到表明有行星正从我们和它们之间经过的闪烁信号。 

Dr Alfredo Carpineti

"We were looking to see changes in light over time," Pinglé explained in a statement. "The idea being that if the planet transits the star, or passes in front of it, it would [periodically] cover up the star and decrease its brightness."

Pinglé在 声明中解释道:“我们希望看到光线随时间的变化。这个想法是，如果行星越过恒星，或从恒星前面经过，它会(周期性地)掩盖恒星并降低其亮度。”

The team found this to be the case for TOI-1233. To their surprise, they saw evidence of not one but multiple planets. Three of these objects are expected to be gaseous planets a bit smaller than Neptune, classified as sub-Neptunes. There is also what looks like a large rocky planet that is believed to be a super-Earth.

研究小组发现TOI-1233的情况也是如此。令他们惊讶的是，他们发现了不止一个而是多个行星存在的证据。其中三颗被认为是比海王星小一点的气态行星，被归类为亚海王星。还有一颗看起来像大型岩石行星，被认为是“超级地球”。

"I was very excited and very shocked," Wright said of the discovery. "We knew this was the goal of Daylan's research, but to actually find a multi-planetary system, and be part of the discovering team, was really cool."

“我非常兴奋，也非常震惊，”赖特谈到这一发现时说。“我们知道这是戴兰研究的目标，但能真正找到一个多行星系统，并成为发现团队的一员，真的很酷。”

Discovering multi-planetary systems like this is very important. Even though TOI-1233 is radically different from our own corner of the galaxy, it can provide important insights into how the solar system came to be.

发现这样的多行星系统非常重要。尽管TOI-1233与我们在银河系的角落完全不同，但它可以为了解太阳系是如何形成的提供重要的见解。

"Our species has long been contemplating planets beyond our solar system and with multi-planetary systems, you're kind of hitting the jackpot," Daylan explained. "The planets originated from the same disk of matter around the same star, but they ended up being different planets with different atmospheres and different climates due to their different orbits. So, we would like to understand the fundamental processes of planet formation and evolution using this planetary system."

戴兰解释说:“我们的物种长期以来一直在研究太阳系以外的行星，以及多行星系统，这有点像中了头彩。”“这两颗行星起源于同一颗恒星周围的同一物质盘，但由于轨道不同，它们最终成为不同的行星，拥有不同的大气和不同的气候。所以，我们希望通过这个行星系统了解行星形成和进化的基本过程。”

The mentoring program, directed by astrochemist Dr Clara Sousa-Silva, aims to connect local high school students who are interested in scientific research with real-world scientists at Harvard and MIT.  It accepts a dozen students per year, prioritizing those from underrepresented minorities in science, who carry our paid research working with mentors on a year-long project.

该指导项目由天体化学家Clara Sousa-Silva博士指导，旨在将对科学研究感兴趣的当地高中生与哈佛大学和麻省理工学院的现实世界的科学家联系起来。 它每年招收十来名学生，优先录取那些在科学领域代表性不足的少数族裔学生，他们在导师的指导下进行为期一年的有偿研究。

"They are salaried scientists," Sousa-Silva explained. "We want to encourage them that pursuing an academic career is enjoyable and rewarding—no matter what they end up pursuing in life."

“他们是拿薪水的科学家，”索萨-席尔瓦解释说。“我们想要鼓励他们，无论他们最终在生活中追求什么，追求学术事业都是愉快和值得的。”

Over the last few years, several teens have gotten involved in exoplanetary research discovering hot Jupiters, as well planets orbiting binary stars.

在过去的几年里， 几个青少年 参与了系外行星研究发现 热木星，以及行星 轨道双星。