What is Exoplanet Watch?

Meet the Exoplanet Watch team

John Engelke (he/him) - CITISENS Development Lead

Education: B.Sc. Physics and Communications with minors in Math and Computer Science from Cal Poly Pomona

Occupation: Software Development and Engineering Specialist at Raytheon (JPL Contractor)

What do you do on Exoplanet Watch? “I work on architecture, programming and problem solving. My role is to take science intent and translate it to the nuts and bolts of a reliable software system. This involves everything from designing how different pieces integrate together to writing code to building out server functionality. I write Python code for things like distributing research results to Cloud-based systems, organizing data into computer-readable formats and parallelizing complex algorithms to make them run faster.”

Why do you work on Exoplanet Watch? “It's a personal goal to help better the world by helping science, and Exoplanet Watch is a great opportunity to participate in the leading edge of new astronomy research. Besides that, I'm enamored with Star Trek The Next Generation, and this is a great way to help get us there one day!”

Tamim Fatahi (he/him) - Undergraduate Intern

Education: Junior Undergraduate at California Polytechnic University, San Luis Obispo, majoring in Computer Science

Occupation: Exoplanet Watch Intern at NASA JPL

What do you do on Exoplanet Watch? “I work on Exoplanet Watch's data reduction pipeline, EXOplanet Transit Interpretation Code (EXOTIC). Adding features to the reduction process and designing the user interface are some of my objectives regarding the pipeline. I also aid in searching for an affordable way to allow citizen scientists to gather data from transiting exoplanets.”

Why do you work on Exoplanet Watch? “It's incredible to partake in the expanding research field for exoplanets, driving me to learn something new every day. I also admire Exoplanet Watch's ability to bridge the gap between the professional environment and those of many different educational backgrounds.”

Isabella "Izzy" Huckabee (she/her) - Undergraduate Intern

Education: rising senior at Arizona State University majoring in Astrophysics

Occupation: Exoplanet Watch Intern at NASA JPL

What do you do on Exoplanet Watch? "I’ll be working on TESS data to bring it to CITISENS. The Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite is detecting thousands of exoplanet candidates, and Exoplanet Watch can help confirm which of these candidates are really exoplanets by having citizen scientists do follow up observations to confirm their existence."

Why do you work on Exoplanet Watch? "Ironically enough, I hated astronomy as a kid - the vastness of space is terrifying to me! However, in the end, my fear was trumped by my curiosity about worlds beyond our solar system. The big question that motivates my work on Exoplanet Watch is ‘How can we create a welcoming astrophysics community and open up the doors of astrophysics to everyone?’"

Kiah May (she/they) - Undergraduate Intern

Education: rising sophomore at The University Colorado Boulder, studying Aerospace Engineering

Occupation: Exoplanet Watch Intern at NASA JPL

What do you do on Exoplanett Watch? "I am an intern working on EXOTIC software development as well as data analysis, reduction and use from the Exoplanet Follow-up Observing Program (ExoFOP). I also work on outreach to amateur astronomers and university astronomy clubs as Exoplanet Watch looks to grow."

Why do you work on Exoplanet Watch? "I have always been fascinated by outer space; as a kid I would spend hours looking up at the stars wondering what was beyond our tiny planet. I came across this project on a Google rabbit-hole and have been super excited to help expand our collective scientific knowledge as we continue to journey farther into the world beyond Earth."

Kyle Pearson (he/him) - Deputy Science Lead; EXOTIC Development Lead

Education: Ph.D. in Planetary Science

Occupation: Data Scientist at NASA JPL

What do you do on Exoplanet Watch? “I assist in the development and management of the Exoplanet Watch citizen science project, a collaboration between amateur astronomers, colleges, and universities, and professional astronomers to perform ephemerides maintenance on transiting exoplanets to ensure the efficient use of professional observatory time.”

Why do you work on Exoplanet Watch? “The existence of worlds beyond our own has been a subject of fascination and inspiration since I was younger and started because of Star Wars. We have the ability to observe these exoplanets from our own backyard and I want to teach people how.”

Rob Zellem (he/him) - Project Lead

Education: BS in Astronomy & Astrophysics (Villanova University); MSc in Space Science (University College London); PhD in Planetary Science (University of Arizona - Lunar & Planetary Laboratory)

Occupation: Exoplanet Astronomer at NASA JPL

What do you do on Exoplanet Watch? “I am the Project Lead for Exoplanet Watch as well as a contributor to our data reduction software, EXOTIC, and our analysis pipeline, CITISENS.”

Why do you work on Exoplanet Watch? “I absolutely love sharing my work and research with the general public. I am excited to see the measurement precision capabilities of amateur astronomers and am delighted to help them support the science of transiting exoplanet missions and ground-based observatories.”

Rachel Zimmerman Brachman (she/her) - Public Engagement Lead

Education: Bachelor's degree in Physics from Brandeis University in Waltham, Massachusetts, and a Master of Space Studies from the International Space University in Strasbourg, France.

Occupation: Solar System, Earth, Exoplanets, and Technology Public Engagement Specialist at NASA JPL

What do you do on Exoplanet Watch? “I work on public engagement for Exoplanet Watch, raising awareness of the opportunity for people to participate in exoplanet studies as citizen scientists, and making hands-on science accessible to as many people as possible. I communicate with project participants on our Slack, participate in bi-weekly all-hands meetings, update the website, and write the monthly newsletter. I also report the project's successes to our sponsor, NASA's Universe of Learning, a SciAct project funded by NASA and run by the Space Telescope Science Institute. Exoplanet Watch is run by astronomers at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory.”

Why do you work on Exoplanet Watch? “I think observing exoplanets is very exciting. It's amazing how much we can learn from studying how a star's brightness changes when a planet passes in front of it. When I was studying physics in university in the 1990's, no exoplanets had been discovered yet. The field of exoplanet exploration is changing very rapidly. Now that we know how to detect exoplanets, we're finding them almost everywhere we look in the night sky. I'm glad to be able to share hands-on exoplanet exploration opportunities with members of the public. Anyone can explore exoplanets, and we're here to help you learn about these fascinating worlds beyond our solar system.”