Ever since the first exoplanet, or planet outside our solar system, was found in the 1990’s, these distant worlds have been among the universe’s most exciting objects to study. And it’s not just big space telescopes studying these exoplanets — new technologies make it possible for anyone down here on Earth to join in the hunt themselves and even break records doing it!
In November 2021, Unistellar Network members made their own observations of an exoplanet called Kepler-167 e as it passed in front of its star – an event called a transit. Not only was this a record-breaking endeavor, but it was highly successful, allowing astronomers at the SETI Institute to use observers’ data in a scientific paper published in The Astrophysical Journal Letters. Thirty one Citizen Astronomers from around the world participated in this 32-hour exoplanet hunt, each adding valuable data to the longest Unistellar exoplanet campaign at the time.

The campaign caught Kepler-167 e dimming the light of its star for over 16 hours! Citizen Astronomers returned precise measurements of the exoplanet’s orbital period, more commonly known as a year, confirming that Kepler-167 e orbits its star every 1,071 days. That gives Kepler-167 e the longest year of any exoplanet to transit and be observed from the ground. In fact, the planet has an orbital period almost double that of the previous record-holder, which was HIP 41378 f at 542 days (by Bryant et al. 2021).
A globe showing the observation of Kepler-167e.
That extra-long orbital period makes a year on Kepler-167 e almost three times as long as a year on Earth. So, if you lived there, you’d be just one-third as old as you are now! But it may be for the best that we don’t live on Kepler-167 e: this planet is a gas giant like Jupiter, so the gravity it would have at its surface, if it were solid, is three times stronger than we feel on Earth.
Exoplanet transits happen nightly, so there are plenty more exoplanets to find and study. Unistellar features especially interesting transits, like those included in our NASA-sponsored programs, throughout the year, giving our members the chance to contribute data to scientific campaigns with their own observations. Learn more about those on our Exoplanets page!
Further readings
A Year in Citizen Science: Unistellar Observers Make 2022 a Success
Last year, Unistellar citizen scientists broke multiple records. From DART to JWST, 2022 was great - but 2023 will be even better!
A Galactic Voyage
Join us on a galactic voyage as we kick off galaxy season with some of our all-time favorites - besides for the Milky Way, that is!
A Year in Citizen Science: Planetary Defense Rocks 2022
Unistellar Planetary Defense had its biggest year yet as the leading citizen science network contributing official near-Earth asteroid data.
A Year in Citizen Science: Observers Break Record Watching JWST from Launch to Space
Last year, the Unistellar Network made the only continuous observations of the James Webb Space Telescope from launch to its final destination.
A Year in Citizen Science: Unistellar Network Breaks Exoplanet Record
Unistellar Exoplanet Hunters made waves in 2022, with a new world record and scientific papers! 2023 is bound to be even better.
Valentine’s Observing Guide
It's the right time of year for viewing celestial objects that will remind you why you fell in love with the night sky.