Looking for patterns in the most recent exoplanet data
Analysis of the most recent exoplanet data is beginning to give us tentative answers to the following questions:
- Is our planetary system a common planetary system?
- How common are Earth-like planets?
- Do more massive stars have more massive planets?
- Can we identify the boundary between rocky planets and ice/gas giants?
- What is the relationship between atmospheric content and planet surface gravity?
- Can the Titius-Bode relationship be used to sucessfully predict the periods of exoplanets in multi-exoplanet systems?
The project begins with the student becoming familiar with the online exoplanet data bases and the most recent literature trying to answer one (or more) of these questions.