EXOPLANET INVESTIGATION MAP
The depth of the exoplanet transit is approximately the ratio of the area of the planet's disc and the area of the star's disc. By measuring the transit's depth and knowing the stellar radius (Rs) you can determine the exoplanet's radius [Rp]
The orbital period, T, of a planet is the time it takes the planet to complete one full orbit around its star. If multiple transits of the same exoplanet are observed, then the time interval between consecutive transits – detected dips in the light curve – is a direct measure of the orbital period of the planet.
Based on the orbital period, T, we can derive the distance, d, between the planet and the star, using Kepler’s Third Law:
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The temperature of a planet is mostly defined by its distance to its host star and by the presence of an atmosphere. An important factor to be considered for habitability is temperature. When a planet orbits a star at a distance where liquid water can be present, the planet is in the habitable zone of the star.
The mass, M, of an exoplanet cannot be determined from the transit method, but other methods like radial velocity can. When both the mass and radius of a planet are known, we can estimate the density, ρ, and composition of the exoplanet.
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where V is the volume of the exoplanet. To calculate the volume of the exoplanet, assume it is a perfect sphere:
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