Students from Kings Math School and their Fellows Sushuang Ma and Jorge Perez Gonzalez from UCL set out on a mission to characterise exoplanets, utilizing data from NASA's Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS) and conducting their own simulations. Their work has yielded valuable insights into the true nature of these distant worlds!

By analysing TESS light curves, the students were able to identify exoplanets and determine their fundamental properties, such as their orbital parameters and their sizes. For example, one of the exoplanets studied, TOI 1420b, was found to have an orbital period of 7 days and a radius of approximately 1.06 times that of Jupiter.

The team has also investigated how the presence of clouds affects the measured radii of exoplanets observed via transit photometry, a commonly used method for estimating the sizes of these planets. Their simulations reveal that clouds can cause exoplanets to appear larger than they are, as clouds block a portion of the light from the host star that would otherwise reach the observer. Additionally, the degree of this apparent inflation in planet size varies depending on the clouds' optical properties and location within the planet's atmosphere.

These findings contribute to our understanding of the diversity and complexity of exoplanetary systems. As TESS continues to gather data and researchers refine their techniques, we can expect to uncover even more fascinating details about the universe beyond our solar system!