Astronomy

Background:

(From NASA's website):

The Kepler mission studies the brightness of stars and finds exoplanets by measuring the light curves of thousands of stars. A light curve is a graph of light intensity over time. Stable stars generally put out a mostly even amount of light. When the brightness drops, there is a dip in the light curve. There are different causes for dips in brightness, but when a dip occurs at a regular, predictable interval, it could be caused by an exoplanet transiting that star.

To calculate the properties of planets around other stars (exoplanets), we must modify our formula to account for the variation in the star’s mass as compared with our sun. So we use $$R=\sqrt[3]{(T^2-M_s)}$$ where M_s = is the star’s mass in relation to our sun's mass.

To find the orbital period of an exoplanet using a light curve, determine the length of time between each dip in the light curve, represented by a line that drops below the normal light intensity.