An exoplanet crossing a starspot (VIDEO)

University of Montreal

Caption

The light curve shows the luminosity or brightness of the star over time. When the exoplanet passes over the star, known as a transit, part of the star’s light is blocked by the exoplanet. As a result, the star’s luminosity decreases. When a star spot is occulted on the star’s surface, or when the exoplanet passes over the dark spot, astronomers can see a signal in the light curve in the form of a small bump in the bottom of the transit light curve. See the full animation of this infographic below.

Credit

B. Gougeon/Université de Montréal

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