Exoplanets and the Search for Life
An exhaustive exploration of planetary systems beyond our own, from the subsurface oceans of icy moons to the detection of biosignatures in the deep cosmos.
Like Duolingo, but for Exoplanets and the Search for Life. Tomo turns the whole topic into a game you play five minutes a day, until it actually sticks.
71 levels across 8 sections, about 142 minutes end to end, roughly 28 days at five minutes a day. It moves through Detection and Discovery Nuance, Planetary Architecture and Dynamics, The Loneliest Worlds, Ocean Worlds of the Solar System, Atmospheric Characterization, Habitability in Context, Deep Space and System Formation, and Theoretical Astrobiology.
Free forever · No credit card · iPhone & Android
Key ideas in Exoplanets and the Search for Life
- Limb darkening makes the stellar edges appear cooler and dimmer than the center
- Gravitational interactions between planets cause departures from strict Keplerian periodicity
- Ignoring the 'softened' edges of the light curve leads to an underestimation of the planet-to-star radius ratio
- The magnitude and frequency of timing shifts can be used to solve for the mass and orbit of an unseen perturber
- The impact is wavelength-dependent, being more pronounced in shorter (bluer) wavelengths
- TTVs are most sensitive to planets near mean-motion resonances
- How limb darkening impacts the calculation of a planet's physical size
- The capability of TTVs to reveal hidden planets
- Gaussian Processes (GP) use kernels to model the covariance of stellar activity without over-fitting the transit signal
- The planet first hides the blue-shifted (approaching) half of the star, causing a redshift anomaly
- Stellar spots rotating in and out of view create correlated noise that mimics or masks transit depths
- The planet then crosses the stellar center where the rotational velocity component is zero
- The sequence of radial velocity shifts during the Rossiter-McLaughlin effect
- The secondary eclipse occurs when the planet passes behind the star, causing the system's total flux to drop
- Stellar noise and Gaussian Processes
- The depth of the eclipse in infrared wavelengths represents the planet's dayside thermal emission
You've tried the other tabs
Thirty open tabs. Four facts you actually kept.
You watched. You nodded. By Sunday it was gone.
One answer, then back to scrolling.
Eight weeks. You meant to finish. You didn't.
Tomo gives Exoplanets and the Search for Life the Duolingo treatment: levels, streaks, and quick quizzes that test what you just learned. That game loop is what the tabs above never had, so it's the one you actually finish.
Here's what playing it feels like
A real question from this course. Take your best guess.
What causes a planet to transit its star slightly earlier or later than a perfectly repeating clockwork schedule?
Get it right to open this lesson and 70 more in the app.
How to learn Exoplanets and the Search for Life, step by step
Go in order. 71 short levels across 8 sections, about 2 hours 22 minutes in all, five minutes a day.
- 1
Detection and Discovery Nuance
- Advanced Transit Photometry
- Precision Radial Velocity
- Gravitational Microlensing
- 2
Planetary Architecture and Dynamics
- Migration and Orbital Evolution
- The Diversity of Terrestrial Worlds
- 3
The Loneliest Worlds
- Rogue Planets and Unbound Objects
- 4
Ocean Worlds of the Solar System
- Enceladus: Plumes and Hydrothermalism
- Titan: Methane Hydrology
- Europa and the Galilean Moons
- 5
Atmospheric Characterization
- Transmission Spectroscopy
- Biosignatures and Technosignatures
- 6
Habitability in Context
- The M-Dwarf Challenge
- The Galactic Habitable Zone
- 7
Deep Space and System Formation
- Protoplanetary Disk Evolution
- Brown Dwarfs and Sub-Stellar Objects
- Post-Main Sequence Planetary Fates
- 8
Theoretical Astrobiology
- The Thermodynamics of Life
- Convergent Evolution in the Cosmos
8 sections · 18 units · 71 levels. Built to play, not to enroll.
Questions about Exoplanets and the Search for Life
How do I learn Exoplanets and the Search for Life?
Go in order: start with Detection and Discovery Nuance, then Planetary Architecture and Dynamics, then The Loneliest Worlds, then Ocean Worlds of the Solar System, and 4 more sections after that. On Tomo that's 71 short levels, about 2 hours 22 minutes in all, played five minutes a day. Start free and play the first level in under a minute.
Is there a Duolingo-style app for Exoplanets and the Search for Life?
Yes. Tomo works like Duolingo: short daily lessons, streaks and quick quizzes. Exoplanets and the Search for Life is one of its free courses, and you can type any other topic to get a course of your own.
Is the Exoplanets and the Search for Life course free?
Yes. Exoplanets and the Search for Life is playable on Tomo's free plan, which doesn't expire. No credit card, no waitlist. Download the app and start your first lesson.
How long does it take to learn Exoplanets and the Search for Life?
71 levels across 8 sections, about 2 hours 22 minutes of play in total. It's built for five minutes a day, so you finish it a little at a time instead of all at once.
Do I need any background to start Exoplanets and the Search for Life?
No. It's pitched at an advanced level, so it starts where you are and builds up. If you can tap a phone, you can start.
Tomo is in ChatGPT
Tomo is also a ChatGPT plugin: the same playable courses, built and played inside your chat.
Add Tomo to ChatGPT- What to ask
- “Make me a Tomo course on black holes.” “Turn this chat into a Tomo course.”
- What you get
- Quick questions with instant feedback, hearts and stars, ready to play in about a minute.
- Where it goes
- No sign-up to start. Connect your Tomo account and your streak carries on in the app.
You pick the voice
Exoplanets and the Search for Life is taught in the Professor style: clear, structured, thorough. Want a different feel? In the app you can spin up the same topic in any of Tomo's teaching styles. Same facts, totally different vibe.
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Ocean Worlds of the Solar System
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The Cosmos and Beyond
Go beyond the basics of the solar system to master the mechanics of orbital motion, stellar evolution, and the deep-space structures that define our universe.
The Life Cycle of the Cosmos
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Ocean Worlds: Life on Saturn's Moons
Explore the icy frontiers of Enceladus and Titan to uncover the chemical secrets of subsurface oceans and the potential for extraterrestrial life.
Stars, Planets, and the Cosmic Void
Journey from the familiar glow of our Moon to the crushing gravity of black holes. Master the life cycles of stars and discover the strange worlds orbiting distant suns.
Start Exoplanets and the Search for Life today.
Download Tomo, search Exoplanets and the Search for Life, and play your first lesson in under a minute.