Compare evidence with a public archive
See this course’s project requirements
A small exoplanet-signal investigation with a graph, depth and period calculations, a NASA archive comparison and an evidence-based report.
Keep your working files in your own notebook or software. Save a private description, checklist, and work link in My Proof.
What to include
- A provenance note that clearly labels the synthetic fixture.
- A 20-point XY chart with correct time and relative-flux labels.
- Checked baseline, depth, radius-ratio approximation and period calculations.
- A comparison of detected signals, candidates and archive records.
- Input CSV, working calculations, graph and short report with limits.
Review and revise
Use these criteria to check your work and choose what to improve.
- The plotted values and units agree with the fixture.
- The calculations can be reproduced from stated inputs.
- Synthetic, observed and predicted information are distinguished.
- The conclusion stays within the supplied evidence.
Want more background?
The idea in everyday life
Open the NASA Exoplanet Archive Overview and Data Resources pages linked below. Required comparison uses public documentation; there is no account, telescope or live data-request wait. Keep the synthetic workbook separate.
A catalog entry, observed time series and candidate designation are different kinds of evidence.
Compare evidence with a public archive — guided practice
Identify what a real archive provides beyond a practice curve.
Open the NASA Exoplanet Archive Overview and Data Resources pages linked below. Required comparison uses public documentation; there is no account, telescope or live data-request wait. Keep the synthetic workbook separate.
1. Inspect archive provenance
On the Overview page find the paragraph describing links back to original literature. Record the page URL and your access date in investigation-notes.txt. Write one sentence explaining why a publication reference matters.
You should see: The note identifies a route from an archive value to its reported source.
Catalog numbers may combine different studies and methods.
2. Compare the data families
On Data Resources locate Planetary Systems, KOI Table and Threshold-Crossing Events. This page is a directory of links. Read the linked KOI column definitions and TCE documentation in this lesson’s sources for status meanings. Planetary Systems lists system parameters; KOI records can be CANDIDATE, FALSE POSITIVE, NOT DISPOSITIONED or CONFIRMED; TCEs are automatically flagged events awaiting further assessment. Record these distinctions without opening a live data table.
You should see: The three labels are not treated as interchangeable levels of confirmation.
A detected periodic pattern may require substantial follow-up before a planet is established.
3. Apply the distinction to a supplied case
Classify these fictional records: Practice-A is the original synthetic CSV; Survey-B is an automatically flagged dip with no follow-up; Catalog-C is a published system parameter entry with a linked reference. Write synthetic, detection, reference-backed catalog entry.
You should see: Each record receives the evidence label its provenance supports.
An attractive graph does not upgrade a record’s evidence status.
4. Plan an authentic next step
Write: for a real object, record its identifier, table, column units, value uncertainty, reference and access date before comparing its period with another source. Use the archive’s introductory descriptions if live tables do not load.
You should see: The notebook has a concrete six-field plan for a real-data extension.
Reproducible comparison needs more than a copied planet name.
What to finish
An archive evidence comparison and six-field provenance plan.
Watch for this
Equating a detected signal with a confirmed catalog planet.
How can I tell I understand it?
Explain the result, reproduce the procedure, and complete the changed-input check.
Quick knowledge check
Answer all 3 questions. Get at least 2 right and the lesson completes automatically.
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Pass the check. We’ll save the progress.
Answer all 3 questions above and get at least 2 right. You can review the explanations and try again.
Go to the knowledge checkOptional course overview video · same video as Lesson 1
NASA | Alien Atmospheres
From NASA Goddard. Watch here or open it on YouTube .
Optional course overview. Follow the written steps below at your own pace.Tools, templates, and lesson sources
Tools and templates
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Sources and further reading
Explore the references behind this lesson.
Source & access notes · checked 2026-09-12
Read transit, radial-velocity and spectroscopy explanations; course makes no current planet-count claim.
Access: Public reading without a paid account; reviewed September 12, 2026.
Reuse: Link only. Lessons and practice assets are original; free access does not grant permission to copy the provider's material.
Source & access notes · checked 2026-09-12
Read archive holdings, data types, original literature links and public tools. No live table operation or data download is claimed.
Access: Public reading without a paid account; reviewed September 12, 2026.
Reuse: Link only. Lessons and practice assets are original; free access does not grant permission to copy the provider's material.
Source & access notes · checked 2026-09-12
Read distinctions among public planet, candidate and survey data resources. The course light curve is explicitly original synthetic data.
Access: Public reading without a paid account; reviewed September 12, 2026.
Reuse: Link only. Lessons and practice assets are original; free access does not grant permission to copy the provider's material.
Source & access notes · checked 2026-09-12
Read koi_disposition categories and their distinction from confirmed system entries.
Access: Public documentation inspected September 12, 2026; no account required.
Reuse: Link only; original teaching fixture remains separate.
Source & access notes · checked 2026-09-12
Read TCE detection and validation-data descriptions; no live table interaction is claimed.
Access: Public documentation inspected September 12, 2026; no account required.
Reuse: Link only; original teaching fixture remains separate.
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