The students heard examples of models of exoplanet transits to learn about how we can tell the size and orbital period of an exoplanet from its light curve. Steward Observatory graduate students Alex Bixel and Ben Rackham and University of Arizona professor Daniel Apai came up with an innovative method to demonstrate exoplanet transits: by translating stellar lightcurves (brightness variations) into piano tunes, all students could easily pick up the events when planets pass in front of their host stars – the sort of transits Project EDEN is searching for. We wanted to find a way that allowed them to get an intuitive sense of the exoplanet transit data – to bring the abstract concept closer to the students’ everyday experiences. Since the Project POEM students have different levels of visual impairment, the traditional data visualization tools were not suitable for demonstrating the concepts to the students. The activity was a collaboration between our EDEN team and Project POEM, which aims to foster interest in STEM careers among visually impaired middle and high school students. Lemmon and introduced them to the methods we are using to find exoplanets. Earlier this week University of Arizona student Allie Mousseau and graduate student Ben Rackham, members of the EDEN team, welcomed a group of 12 students at the UA Sk圜enter atop Mt.
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