Tom Wagg

Last updated
Tom Wagg
Born (1997-11-30) November 30, 1997 (age 27)
Stoke-on-Trent, England
NationalityEnglish
Alma mater Harvard University
Occupation(s)PhD Student, University of Washington
Website https://www.tomwagg.com/

Thomas James Wagg (born 30 November 1997) is an English astrophysicist, with interests in massive stars and gravitational waves. He is currently pursuing a PhD in Astronomy from the University of Washington. [1] He is believed to be the youngest person to have discovered a planet. [2] [3]

Contents

Early life and education

Wagg was born in Stoke-on-Trent, a green country-side city located in Staffordshire, England. He attended Newcastle-under-Lyme school, where he attained an A* in all 12 GCSE exams, including astronomy. [2] [4] While in high school, he completed a work experience program at Keele University on an exoplanet search project under Professor Coel Hellier. [4]

He graduated from Harvard College in 2020 with a bachelor’s degree in Physics and Astrophysics and a secondary in Computer Science with the distinction cum laude. While there, his research program spanned luminous red galaxies with Daniel Eisenstein and population genetics with Michael Desai, ultimately culminating in a senior thesis under Selma de Mink on the LISA mission’s ability to detect black hole-neutron star binaries. [5] As an undergraduate, he also served the Harvard Library Judaica Division, pioneering the Alma Booster Chrome Extension used by the department to streamline record-keeping. [6] [7]

Exoplanet discovery

In 2015, Tom discovered a planet during a work experience program for the astrophysics department of Keele University. [4] His work contributed to the Wide Angle Search for Planets (WASP), an international consortium of academic institutions that use transit photometry to detect exoplanets. [8] [2] On the third day of his internship, Tom noticed a small irregular dip in the light intensity of a star, a common sign that an orbiting planet is passing between a star and the observation point. In 2016, researchers from the University of Liege and University of Geneva confirmed that fade was caused by a previously unknown exoplanet. [9] [10] Having made the discovery at 15 years old, Tom is thought to be the youngest person to discover a planet. [2] [3]

The planet, located over 2,000 light years away from Earth, was cataloged as WASP-142b, the 142nd planet discovered in the WASP survey. [11] Researchers described the planet as a typical hot Jupiter, similar in size and structure to the largest planet in our solar system but exhibiting a two-day orbit. [12] [13] Inspired by these similarities, Tom indicated that if given the choice, he would have named the planet “Zeus” after the famously thunderous and temperamental Greek counterpart of the Roman god, “Jupiter”. [11]

In interviews, Wagg appeared excited but humble stating, “in a way, some of it comes down to luck… you can be as good as you want and you can still never find one". [9] However, those around him sung praises at his stellar achievement. His physics teacher, Andy Fishburne, described him as “ultra-keen,” which Professor Coel Hellier, the WASP program leader at Keele University, echoed by explaining “Tom is keen to learn about science, so it was easy to train him to look for planets". [2] [9] Fellow classmates and friends shared in the excitement, but his sister, Lucy, remained dubious. [14]

Early career

Wagg is currently pursuing a PhD in Astrophysics at the University of Washington. [1] His interests lie in massive, binary stars and gravitational waves. His notable works include investigating massive double compact objects that are detectable by LISA [15] and producing an open-source Python package called LEGWORK for performing similar studies. [16]

Awards

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Wide Angle Search for Planets</span> Exoplanet search project

WASP or Wide Angle Search for Planets is an international consortium of several academic organisations performing an ultra-wide angle search for exoplanets using transit photometry. The array of robotic telescopes aims to survey the entire sky, simultaneously monitoring many thousands of stars at an apparent visual magnitude from about 7 to 13.

WASP-6, also officially named Márohu, is a type-G yellow dwarf star located about 651 light-years away in the Aquarius constellation. Dim at magnitude 12, it is visible through a moderate sized amateur telescope. The star is about 80% of the size and mass of the Sun and it is a little cooler. Starspots in the WASP-6 system helped to refine the measurements of the mass and the radius of the planet WASP-6b.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Swiss 1.2-metre Leonhard Euler Telescope</span> Telescope in the La Silla Observatory, Chile

Leonhard Euler Telescope, or the Swiss EULER Telescope, is a national, fully automatic 1.2-metre (47 in) reflecting telescope, built and operated by the Geneva Observatory. It is located at an altitude of 2,375 m (7,792 ft) at ESO's La Silla Observatory site in the Chilean Norte Chico region, about 460 kilometers north of Santiago de Chile. The telescope, which saw its first light on 12 April 1998, is named after Swiss mathematician Leonhard Paul Euler.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">WASP-17b</span> Hot-Jupiter exoplanet in the orbit of the star WASP-17

WASP-17b, officially named Ditsö̀, is an exoplanet in the constellation Scorpius that is orbiting the star WASP-17. Its discovery was announced on 11 August 2009. It is the first planet discovered to have a retrograde orbit, meaning it orbits in a direction counter to the rotation of its host star. This discovery challenged traditional planetary formation theory. In terms of diameter, WASP-17b is one of the largest exoplanets discovered and at half Jupiter's mass, this made it the most puffy planet known in 2010. On 3 December 2013, scientists working with the Hubble Space Telescope reported detecting water in the exoplanet's atmosphere.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">WASP-18b</span> Extrasolar planet that has an orbital period of less than one day

WASP-18b is an exoplanet that is notable for having an orbital period of less than one day. It has a mass equal to 10 Jupiter masses, just below the boundary line between planets and brown dwarfs. Due to tidal deceleration, it is expected to spiral toward and eventually merge with its host star, WASP-18, in less than a million years. The planet is approximately 3.1 million km from its star, which is about 400 light-years from Earth. A team led by Coel Hellier, a professor of astrophysics at Keele University in England, discovered the exoplanet in 2009.

WASP-95 is a star 451 light-years away in the constellation Grus. With an apparent magnitude of 10.1, it is not visible to the naked eye. Its spectral type of G2 means it is a yellow sunlike star.

WASP-104b is a hot Jupiter exoplanet that orbits the star WASP-104. It is considered to be one of the darkest exoplanets discovered. WASP-104b was discovered in 2014; according to a 2018 study at Keele University, the planet's dense atmosphere of potassium and sodium absorbs more than 97% of light it receives.

WASP-49 is a binary star system about 636 light-years away in the constellation Lepus. The two stars are separated by 443 AU. The primary is a G-type main-sequence star, with a surface temperature of 5,600 K. WASP-49 is depleted of heavy elements relative to the Sun. It has a metallicity Fe/H index of –0.23, meaning it has 59% the iron level of the Sun.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">TOI-1338</span> Binary star system in the constellation Pictor

TOI-1338 is a binary star system located in the constellation Pictor, about 1,320 light-years from Earth. It is orbited by two known circumbinary planets, TOI-1338 b, discovered by the Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS) and BEBOP-1c, discovered by the Binaries Escorted By Orbiting Planets project.

WASP-29 is a binary star system 285 light-years away in the constellation of Phoenix. The primary star is a K-type main-sequence star. Its comoving companion, a red dwarf star, was discovered in 2021. The star system kinematically belongs to the thin disk of the Milky Way. The primary is an old star with small starspot activity and low x-ray flux.

WASP-62, formally named Naledi, is a single star about 573 light-years away. It is an F class main-sequence star, orbited by a planet, WASP-62b. The age of WASP-62 is much younger than the Sun at 0.8±0.6 billion years, and it has a metal abundance similar to the Sun.

WASP-69, also named Wouri, is a K-type main-sequence star 164 light-years away from Earth. Its surface temperature is 4782±15 K. WASP-69 is slightly enriched in heavy elements compared to the Sun, with a metallicity Fe/H index of 0.10±0.01, and is much younger than the Sun at 2 billion years. The data regarding starspot activity of WASP-69 are inconclusive, but spot coverage of the photosphere may be very high.

WASP-84, also known as BD+02 2056, is a G-type main-sequence star 327 light-years away in the constellation Hydra. Its surface temperature is 5350±31 K and is slightly enriched in heavy elements compared to the Sun, with a metallicity Fe/H index of 0.05±0.02. It is rich in carbon and depleted of oxygen. WASP-84's age is probably older than the Sun at 8.5+4.1
−5.5 billion years. The star appears to have an anomalously small radius, which can be explained by the unusually high helium fraction or by it being very young.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">WASP-96b</span> Gas giant exoplanet targeted for spectroscopy

WASP-96b is a gas giant exoplanet. Its mass is 0.48 times that of Jupiter. It is 0.0453 AU from the class G star WASP-96, which it orbits every 3.4 days. It is about 1,140 light-years away from Earth, in the constellation Phoenix. It was discovered in 2013 by the Wide Angle Search for Planets (WASP).

WASP-96 is a G8-type star, located approximately 1140 light-years from Earth in the constellation of Phoenix.

WASP-178b, also known as KELT-26b and HD 134004 b, is an ultra-hot Jupiter exoplanet discovered in 2019 orbiting WASP-178, a hot A-type star located about 1,350 light-years away in the constellation of Lupus. At over 1.8 times the radius of Jupiter, it is among the largest exoplanets. The planet is tidally locked, heating up one side of the planet to such a degree that silicate rock and metal evaporate. Supersonic winds blow constantly towards the dark, cooler nighttime side, where the vaporized minerals condense and fall as rain.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">WASP-132</span> Star in constellation Lupus

WASP-132 is a star located about 403 light-years away in the constellation of Lupus. It is known to be orbited by two exoplanets and one more awaiting confirmation. With an apparent magnitude of 11.938, it is far too faint to be visible by the naked eye from Earth, but can be observed using a 60-mm aperture telescope as an orangish star.

References

  1. 1 2 "Tom Wagg | Department of Astronomy | University of Washington". astro.washington.edu. Retrieved 2022-11-30.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 "This teenager discovered a new planet on his third day at work". Washington Post. ISSN   0190-8286 . Retrieved 2022-12-01.
  3. 1 2 "15-year-old single-handedly discovers new planet". The Independent. 2015-06-11. Retrieved 2022-12-01.
  4. 1 2 3 University, Keele. "2015". Keele University. Retrieved 2022-12-01.
  5. 1 2 "Tom Wagg receives a Senior Goldberg Prize along with Noel Chou who was awarded the Junior Goldberg Prize". astronomy.fas.harvard.edu. Retrieved 2022-11-30.
  6. ↑ "HJ Alma Booster". Ex Libris Developer Network. Retrieved 2022-11-30.
  7. ↑ HJ Alma Booster, hl-judaica-division, 2023-05-03, retrieved 2023-06-12
  8. ↑ "15-Year-Old Intern Discovers New Planet". Time. 12 June 2015. Retrieved 2022-12-01.
  9. 1 2 3 "Staffordshire schoolboy discovers new planet". BBC News. Retrieved 2022-11-30.
  10. ↑ Hellier, C; et al. (22 November 2016). "WASP-South transiting exoplanets: WASP-130b, WASP-131b, WASP-132b, WASP-139b, WASP-140b, WASP-141b and WASP-142b". Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society . 465 (3): 3693–3707. arXiv: 1604.04195 . doi: 10.1093/mnras/stw3005 .
  11. 1 2 "15-year-old intern discovers new planet light-years away from Earth". TODAY.com. 18 June 2015. Retrieved 2022-12-01.
  12. ↑ "Exoplanet-catalog". Exoplanet Exploration: Planets Beyond our Solar System. Retrieved 2022-12-01.
  13. ↑ Sarkar, Monica (2015-06-11). "New planet discovered by 15-year-old intern". CNN. Retrieved 2022-12-01.
  14. ↑ Tom Wagg BBC MidlandsToday , retrieved 2022-12-01
  15. ↑ Wagg, T.; Broekgaarden, F. S.; de Mink, S. E.; Frankel, N.; van Son, L. A. C.; Justham, S. (2022-10-01). "Gravitational Wave Sources in Our Galactic Backyard: Predictions for BHBH, BHNS, and NSNS Binaries Detectable with LISA". The Astrophysical Journal. 937 (2): 118. arXiv: 2111.13704 . Bibcode:2022ApJ...937..118W. doi: 10.3847/1538-4357/ac8675 . ISSN   0004-637X. S2CID   244714732.
  16. ↑ Wagg, T.; Breivik, K.; de Mink, S. E. (2022-06-01). "LEGWORK: A Python Package for Computing the Evolution and Detectability of Stellar-origin Gravitational-wave Sources with Space-based Detectors". The Astrophysical Journal Supplement Series. 260 (2): 52. arXiv: 2111.08717 . Bibcode:2022ApJS..260...52W. doi: 10.3847/1538-4365/ac5c52 . ISSN   0067-0049. S2CID   244270039.
  17. ↑ "Tom Wagg wins the Harvard Leo Goldberg prize for his senior thesis | Selma E. de Mink". 2020-06-01. Retrieved 2022-12-01.
  18. ↑ "Student participants | Kavli Summer Program in Astrophysics". kspa.soe.ucsc.edu. Retrieved 2023-06-12.
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