NASA’s intern discovers a new planet on his third day

A teenage internee at the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) made a difference on the third day of his internship.

A 17-year-old Wolf Cukier has discovered a new planet in space while assisting at the space agency in the US.

NASA confirmed that Wolf has discovered a new planet that is 1,300 light-years away from Earth.

Wolf was checking photos from his special satellite when he highlighted something that was not seen before.

Wolf Cukier shared his opinion that he had joined NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center when he completed his school last summer.

He says, “I was searching for a planet that orbits two stars,”

On just the third day of joining, this internee made a brilliant discovery. He was observing a solar system several light-years away from earth.

“I took it to my mentor, we looked at the data from the stars and noticed two additional dips in light, so we started doing analysis to see if it actually could be a planet.”

After he told other scientists there, they further inspected the matter and later found that a planet exists that is 6.9 times as large as Earth.

Scientists named the planet as TOI 1338 b.

Wolf says about the name, “I don’t get to name the planet. My brother had the idea of calling it Wolftopia but I think TOI 1338 b is sufficient.”

According to scientists, TOI 1338 b is a circumbinary planet that revolves around two stars instead of the usual one.

The same idea about such strange discovery was mentioned in a science-fiction film Star Wars. The actors had discovered a new planet that revolves around two stars. Actors have named that planet ‘Tatooine.’

It seems that Wolf was much inspired by Star Wars’ idea.

He said, “It’s very much like Tatooine, at least how the stars would appear in the sky,”

“So, it would also have a double sunset.”

However, Wolf explains that TOI 1338 bis not habitable, unlike Tatooine. He says that this planet may be extremely hot and may not have a solid surface.

The teenager says about his work at NASA. “I’ve no idea about NASA’s hiring practices but it can’t hurt! It’s a good thing to have on my CV,”

“My mentor has been very supportive and excited. I think NASA is surprised by the amount of attention this has been getting.”

The teenager has an immense interest in science and space.

“When I’m there I’m planning to study physics and astrophysics,” “From there, a career in space research is appealing.”

“I’ve had more congratulations over the past four days than I’ve had over the past couple of years combined. Everybody is incredibly excited. It’s a surreal experience.”