UK schoolboy on work experience discovers new planet

A teenager on work experience discovered a new planet 1,000 light years away, The Telegraph reports. Tom Wagg was 15 when he spotted a tiny dip in the light of a distant star during his week-long placement at Keele University, Staffordshire, UK. But it has taken astonomers two years of further research to confirm that he had witnessed a mystery planet passing in front of the star. The phenomenon is located so far away in our galaxy - in the southern constellation of Hydra - it cannot be seen directly through a telescope but is thought to be about the same size as Jupiter, orbiting its star every two days. Tom, now 17, said: It's really exciting. I was amazed. It's definitely something you can tell people about.
"I'm hugely excited to have a found a new planet, and I'm very impressed that we can find them so far away. "It's a gas planet and is known as a 'hot Jupiter'. As it's so close to a star, there could be other planets around it."
The discovery makes the student from Westlands, Newcastle-under-Lyme, Staffs, one of the youngest people ever to find a new planet.
It has been catalogued as WASP-142b as it is the 142nd to be discovered by the WASP project.
The WASP (Wide Angle Search for Planets) consortium also involves scientists from the Universities of Warwick, Cambridge and St. Andrews, working with scientists in Switzerland, France and Belgium.
Tom likened star-gazing to "looking in back in time" as the stars are so far away from Earth. His interest in astronomy dates back to when he got his own telescope when he was seven.
When he was studying for his GCSEs, one of his teachers recommended he approach Keele to gain a greater insight into the subject.
And the teenager soon found himself studying data collected through surveys of the night skies, where millions of stars were being monitored.
He added: "The WASP software was impressive, enabling me to search through hundreds of different stars, looking for ones that have a planet.
"I was initially looking at the light curve when I noticed it. I spoke to staff at the university and they said it looked interesting."

UK schoolboy on work experience discovers new planet

A teenager on work experience discovered a new planet 1,000 light years away, The Telegraph reports. Tom Wagg was 15 when he spotted a tiny dip in the light of a distant star during his week-long placement at Keele University, Staffordshire, UK. But it has taken astonomers two years of further research to confirm that he had witnessed a mystery planet passing in front of the star. The phenomenon is located so far away in our galaxy - in the southern constellation of Hydra - it cannot be seen directly through a telescope but is thought to be about the same size as Jupiter, orbiting its star every two days. Tom, now 17, said: Its really exciting. I was amazed. Its definitely something you can tell people about. Im hugely excited to have a found a new planet, and Im very impressed that we can find them so far away. Its a gas planet and is known as a hot Jupiter. As its so close to a star, there could be other planets around it. The discovery makes the student from Westlands, Newcastle-under-Lyme, Staffs, one of the youngest people ever to find a new planet. It has been catalogued as WASP-142b as it is the 142nd to be discovered by the WASP project. The WASP (Wide Angle Search for Planets) consortium also involves scientists from the Universities of Warwick, Cambridge and St. Andrews, working with scientists in Switzerland, France and Belgium. Tom likened star-gazing to looking in back in time as the stars are so far away from Earth. His interest in astronomy dates back to when he got his own telescope when he was seven. When he was studying for his GCSEs, one of his teachers recommended he approach Keele to gain a greater insight into the subject. And the teenager soon found himself studying data collected through surveys of the night skies, where millions of stars were being monitored. He added: The WASP software was impressive, enabling me to search through hundreds of different stars, looking for ones that have a planet. I was initially looking at the light curve when I noticed it. I spoke to staff at the university and they said it looked interesting.