 Think Tech Hawaii, civil engagement lives here. And we're live. We're back. This is Young Talent's Making Way here on Think Tech Hawaii. Every Tuesday we talk about things that matter to Hawaii with our brilliant school students and their science projects. Now you can see today we are in space. We are on the Think Tech spacecraft as we are journeying through the stars to talk about the wonders of space. And so today it is my pleasure to introduce you to Emmie Loh from Kaimuki High School, who's going to talk to us about these wonders of space and the newly discovered solar system. Nice to have you here. Welcome to the show, Emmie. Hi. Welcome. So, why is this... So we have our own solar system. We know it with our planets, the terrestrial planets inside. We have gaseous planets bigger. But a newly discovered solar system is something remarkable, and you did your science project about it. So, why is this solar system so remarkable? Well, in 2015, the transiting planet and planetesimal small telescope discovered two exoplanets 40 light-years away. And in 2017, Spitzer Telescope, along with ground-based telescope, confirmed these two and as well as uncover five more exoplanets, making a total of seven. What's remarkable about these exoplanets is the size. All of these seven exoplanets have relatively the same size to Earth, which is astonishing since that other confirmed systems don't have all of its exoplanets relatively the same size to Earth. What is an exoplanet? Exoplanet is a planet that orbits a star other than the Sun. So this is another star you mentioned, 40 light-years away from us, with a kingdom of seven planets, if you want. And they are all Earth-like planets. In terms of size, you mentioned other features. What do you mean by other features? The size of the planet and the density. Why are these planets so similar to Earth? Well, the density is relatively similar to Earth, but less. A little less. A little less. Yeah, okay. And so you joined the state of Hawaii Science and Engineering Fair competition. You were two weeks ago, if I remember well, at the state fair. And so you presented this project. And you tell us something about your project. What did you do as part of this project? So although that many information about Trappist 1 is easily accessible online, my project was based on calculating the properties of Trappist 1 and I wanted to narrow down which of these exoplanets is the most Earth-like, not just in size. That's the topic of it. So I believe we have some pictures here. So let's take a look at this wonders of space. Oh, okay. So this is the Trappist 1 system. Yeah. Okay. So can you tell us something about this solar system? Yeah. What are the feet? How is it different from ours, for example? So for the Trappist 1 system, as you can see even on this image, they're all relatively very close to one another. So if we were to go on one of these exoplanets and we look out into the night sky, we can see the neighboring planets. And it's remarkable since that these Trappist 1 system also has a very fast orbital period like for Trappist 1 it orbits approximately like 1.15 days. So it's very fast? Very fast. What about the star that we're looking at on the left? That's the main object in the Trappist 1 solar system. Is it similar to our sun or different? Oh, it's different. It's an ultra-cooled dwarf star. So it is a little less in temperature than compared to the sun. And I suppose since it's a dwarf, it's also smaller than the sun. Is that the reason why the planets are orbit faster because they're closer to the star and with respect to the solar system? I'm not really sure about that one. But that's a good perspective. Yeah, yeah, because in fact, I believe our next slide that has some, it displays differences with our own solar system. OK, so here that's a comparison basically between the Trappist 1 solar system and the Jupiter and major moons. So, yeah. So with Trappist 1 system, you can see that even on this image, they're really close to one another compared to our solar system, which is our planets is much more further away. So all of the planets in this solar system basically are within the orbit of the first planet of our own solar system, that's Mercury. So it's a very minute, it's a tiny solar system if you want. And that's why I see above, we are also comparing it to the Jupiter-moons system, the moons that orbit around Jupiter, is that right? Yes. Yeah, OK. So measuring the features and orbital features of these planets, how did you get interested in this particular problem, characterizing the orbits and also how did you do this as part of your science project? I was interested in astronomy after watching the movie Interstellar, where the protagonist had to, for the protagonist to discover and journey to another galaxy with 12 potential orbital exoplanets due to croplates and dust storms surrounding human survival. I guess that really inspired me to look at habitable exoplanets. And I know that there are millions of exoplanets that needs to be discovered, but what's really captured me about TRAPPIST-1 is it's seven exoplanets and that the fact that it's recently new and discovered. 2015, that's the discovery. Yeah, a planet is an object that orbits a star, but we can see the stars in the night sky or using telescopes from Earth quite easily because they emit lights, but a planet doesn't emit its own light, right? No. And so how do we actually see these objects? How do we discover them? Well, there's a variety of ways to detect exoplanets and one of the methods I use was transit photometry. Oh, transit photometry. So what is it? It measures the dimming of the star as the planet passes between the star and observer. So basically you choose a star and you see if there is a pattern in the brightness. So the brightness is steady, then it goes down because I suppose the planet is passing by. And so that you do it several times to try and find this pattern. Is that right? Yes, but I wasn't able to actually experiment it because I do not have the resources for it. So I had to look into NASA's Spitzer telescope. The data that they got. And that's a space telescope, isn't it? Yes. Yeah, OK. I believe we have a new slide which shows this process of how the curved light changes. OK, I believe it's the next one. Yeah, there it is. So yeah, you can describe this for us. So we have a glimpse of what actually astronomers do to discover this exoplanet. So as I mentioned before, it measures the dimming of the star as the planet passes between the star and observer. And a transit is detected during the passage between the star and observer. So when multiple transits occur at regular intervals and at a fixed length of time, it can indicate an exoplanet. So I guess we were very lucky at discovering this particular solar system because to see the transits, the angles of the orbits has to be just right so that we see the planet going on to the disk of the star. Because for example, if the orbits were 90 degrees tilted, we won't see anything. We won't be able to detect the planet. Right? I believe so. Yeah, OK. So your science project, we talked about this particular solar system. Remarkable has seven terrestrial planets, which is quite a big number. So what did you do as part of the science project that got you to the state fair two weeks ago? Well, I analyzed the TRAPPIST-1 transit photometer graph, which you'll be seeing later. I also used that graph, and I analyzed it. And I did some basic geometry to calculate the properties such as the orbital period, the radius of a planet, density, and so on. OK. Let's see to understand better before we move to the figures that you brought us, the results of your research. Let's see the chart that I believe was the figure we showed before earlier, with the habitable zone. So you can tell us a little bit more. OK, so what is exactly an habitable zone? How is it defined for a solar system and for planets orbiting the star? So the habitable zone is a region where the exoplanet has the ability to maintain liquid water given appropriate planetary conditions. So you can see that for different stars, the habitable zone really differs. Because of the energy that is released by the star, the size of the star? Yeah. So with the ultra-cooled dwarf star, the habitable zone is more closed in compared to a star that is much bigger than the sun. It is more further out and extended. So here we're looking at temperature versus starlight of the planet on the x-axis. So basically, we can see that the bigger the star, the brighter the more energy it releases, then the habitable zone is closer. We can see that Venus, for example, just to define the habitable zone in our own solar system, Venus is out of the, so where is basically the habitable zone in our solar system with respect to the planets, the inner planets, I guess, yeah? So for our habitable zone, you can tell by Earth and Mars is in the habitable zone, but Mars is a little further out. And it's in the habitable zone, but its conditions doesn't allow for it to have liquid water. So Earth, if you want, is just right, the position. Yeah, yeah, because Venus is a little too hot and Mars is a little too cold, yeah? Well, Mars isn't exactly too cold. It's kind of on the borderline. It's in the habitable zone, but it's conditioned. Besides being in the habitable zone, like its atmosphere isn't right to maintain liquid water. Right, right. And so down below, we're looking at the planets orbiting Trappist. So we're looking at the, how are these planets named, I guess? Did we give them names or? Well, Trappist was named after the original telescope that discovered it. For the names, it's named after, I guess, the alphabets considering its BCDFG8. Oh, OK, so we didn't give individual names to each of the planets. OK, OK. So they are seven. All right, so how did you, so you measure the characteristics of these planets by using spitzer data? What did you find about these planets? I found that three of these planets are in the habitable zone and also the area, again, where liquid water might be present, yeah. NASA's recent discovery on using Hubble Space Telescope discovered that none of these seven exoplanets have hydrogen-rich atmospheres, which is great because with hydrogen-rich atmospheres, it doesn't allow for liquid water to exist. How do we see an atmosphere of a planet? Because I suppose it's a tiny layer around the planet. So we do this with Hubble Space Telescope. Yes, it measures the infrared. Oh, OK. So the infrared light them. And then I guess we use spectroscopy to look at the spectral features that can tell us whether there is hydrogen or other elements. Why is hydrogen not so good, you mentioned? With hydrogen, it really blocks the atmosphere. It really blocks the atmosphere, causing it to not have. Basically, enough light from the sun, I guess. And so we don't want to see hydrogen for a habitable planet. Is that right? Yeah. So we're learning here with Emmy Law from Kaimuki High School about the wonders of these words that are not so far from us in terms of astronomical distances. And so we'll be back for more here on Fintech Hawaii. We'll take a break. Hello, everyone. I'm DeSoto Brown, the co-host of Human Humane Architecture, which is seen on Fintech Hawaii every other Tuesday at 4 PM. And with the show's host, Martin Desbang, we discuss architecture here in the Hawaiian Islands and how it not only affects the way we live, but other aspects of our life, not only here in Hawaii, but internationally as well. So join us for Human Humane Architecture every other Tuesday at 4 PM on Fintech Hawaii. Do you want to be cool like me? If so, watch my show on Tuesdays at 1 called Out of the Comfort Zone. I sang this song to you because I think you either are cool or have the potential to be seriously cool. And I want you to come watch my show, where I bring in experts who talk all about easy strategies to be healthier, happier, build better relationships, and make your life a success. So come sit with the cool kids at Out of the Comfort Zone on Tuesdays at 1. See you there. And we're back. This is Young Talent's Making Way here on Fintech Hawaii. We are talking about the wonders of a star that has seven planets which are very similar to Earth for their size, their densities, their atmospheres, and their overall characteristics. That's a remarkable discovery. And Emmy Lowe from Kaimuki High School is here with us today to help us understanding more about if you want foreign solar systems, not our own solar system, but other planets. So Emmy, you were at the State of Hawaii Science and Engineering Fair, and you presented your research. Can you show us some of the figures that you presented there as part of your project? So maybe let's have our first slide up so we can see some data. Oh, yeah, there it is. OK. So this is a Trappist-1 transit photometer graph. It shows how the light of the red ultra-cool door start dims as each of its seven exoplanets passes in front of it and blocks some of its light. Yeah, yeah. And it's over a course of nearly 21 days. This was acquired using the Spitzer Space Telescope. So basically, we can see that the relative brightness goes down as each of the planet moves onto the disk of the star. So how did you use this data set to actually find out more about the orbital parameters and the characteristics of each of these planets? I was able to measure the orbital period of each planet by using a ruler just by, as you can tell on the graph, there's the keys that says Trappist-1B. It's from nearly 1.5 days. That's very short to be respectful, yeah. And it was also, even without doing any calculations, I was able to estimate the size of these planets by looking at the depths of the dips. So basically, the deeper the dips, the larger the exoplanets. Oh, OK. Right, right. Because they obscure a larger area of the Trappist-1 star, I guess, yeah? OK, OK. Yeah, yeah, that's remarkable. So let's have our next slide up so we can see more about the features of these characteristics of these planets with respect to Earth as well. OK, so here, this is a figure that you produced. Yeah, so what is telling us? What is it telling us? So once I figured out that Trappist-1E, Trappist-1F, and Trappist-1G were in the habitable zone, I wanted to continue narrowing down to see which of these three exoplanets were the most habitable by comparing it to its surface gravity and density. So on this graph, it shows the surface gravity. For Earth, it's labeled green. And you can tell that the surface gravity on Earth is much more stronger than any of these exoplanets in Trappist-1. So that means the same object that has a certain weight on Earth would be lighter on each of these three planets, right? Yeah. So if I were to jump, for example, I could jump much higher or? In a way, but it still has surface gravity, so it has much more surface gravity than the moon. So you would still feel muscle atrophy, but you will still function as you would do on Earth, but you will feel much more lighter in a sense. You could have the Olympics on Trappist-1 and see what happens. So let's see some more features of these planets. I believe we have a next figure. OK, so this is the density, yeah. So how does it compare the density of these planets to Earth? Similar with the surface gravity, the density on Earth is still much more stronger than the density to these trappist planets. But we can tell that with Trappist-1e, it has a much more, it has a very closer density to Earth compared to Trappist-1f and Trappist-1g. And Trappist-1e is the closer to the star among these three that you have considered. Yeah. Yes. OK. So these planets are remarkable. They have similar characteristics to Earth for habitability and density and other features. But we don't know, actually, if there is life on these planets. No. Further studies need to be conducted in order to tell if there's life on these exoplanets. Or even water or even liquid water or something. This is all potential. There is potential for, yeah. So how is your experience at the State Fair to actually present data from a newly discovered solar system? I was very nervous at the State Science Fair. But it was amazing being able to share my data with the judges and other people around me. And I was able to learn about other people's project as well. The community as well, yeah? You were able to share this with the community. Why is this research important to us, you know, to the community? Why do we care about these other planets and solar systems? For studying exoplanets, it can really help us learn more about ourselves, the development of life on Earth and the planet's formation. Oh, OK, so we can see basically how they formed and what are the ingredients, if you want, for the ingredients that are needed for the development of life on a planet. That's really interesting. So you conducted this research with your science teacher, who is here today. Hello. So what have you learned as a student at Kaimuki High School to process this data that comes from a Spitzer Space Telescope? I learned that the process is, although there were some difficulties, I was able to learn about the process. And also I was very intrigued with the results. And I was fascinated in being, I was able to be like a NASA astronomer in calculating these properties. That's so, that's very, you know, that's amazing, yeah. So I guess one question might be, how did you get this data? How did you get involved with NASA to actually help them process this data? Well, with social media, it was very easy to find new information regarding space in general, and I stumble upon, trap this one. Right, so you found, and then the data you mentioned are available online. So that's the processing that you did, yeah. So you're at Kaimuki High School, you're almost finishing high school. What do you see next? Well, I plan to head of college and major in biology. Oh, it's surprising. Surprising since my project was on astronomy. Right. But I wanted to be an ophthalmologist, and with this project with all these telescopes, in a way, a telescope is like an eye, a much more advanced eye. And I was able to broaden my interest in a way. Maybe you would be able to do astrobiology if one of these planets might, yeah, that's amazing, yeah. So are you gonna stay in Hawaii as part of your college experience, or are you looking at moving towards the mainland or other countries as well? I'll probably stay here and attend UH Manoa to fulfill all my prerequisites courses. Good, good, we need you here in Hawaii. That's excellent. So are you gonna participate in more science fairs as well in the future? I will. Okay. Maybe just not in astronomy category and more into the eye of the eyesight. Maybe eyesight. So for human, but human biology or animal and more other animals and mammals or... Human biology. Human biology, okay. So you mentioned that you're very fascinated with the sight and the sight of things and telescopes or human biology, the eye as well. Why are you interested in this? Because the eye is actually a remarkable muscle. So why are you, yeah, interested in this? It's mostly from wearing glasses for nine years. Oh. It's, I guess the thing that really inspired me to pursue ophthalmology is from watching Cosmos. The second episode, it showed how the evolution of the eye involved throughout the course of time. We humans were always like in this form were very tiny cells that formed into this and even our eye wasn't like this. We were aquatic creatures and evolutionized to become, to be able to see on land now. It's truly remarkable. And so we invite here, Amy and I, we invite all of our audience today to take a break from your busy life and maybe go out and have a look at the wonders of the bright night sky. The milky way and the planets is extremely fascinating. And here in Hawaii, we don't have too much light pollution. So it's really, really nice and enjoyable to see with all the family. So thank you very much, Amy, for coming here today to share about your research. Thank you. We're glad to have you here. And so this is Young Talents Making Way. We'll be back for more next week for more exciting science that matters. We'll be back. Stay tuned.