Lesson sequence uses exoplanet data to teach fundamental concepts of astrophysics

Once tightly focused on those revolving around our sun, our understanding of planetary bodies has expanded significantly during the last 30 years to include in-depth studies of exoplanets. Despite these advances, physics and astronomy education often remains stubbornly focused on the planets of the solar system.

To remedy this, researchers have developed lectures for early physics students to study exoplanets using real-world data. Leveraging the Open Exoplanet Catalog and NASA’s Eye on Exoplanets website, Montecinos et al. crafted prompts to facilitate discussions about broad-ranging astrophysics topics, such as Newton’s Law of Universal Gravitation and Kepler’s Third Law, as applied to current research on 59 extrasolar systems.

“One of the main challenges was the lack of accessible and pedagogically appropriate resources to teach the physics and address the limits and uncertainties in exoplanet data,” said author Ruben Montecinos. “Although the astronomical data used are publicly available through open-access catalogs and scientific journals, their high level of technical complexity makes them largely inaccessible to teachers and students.”

Through this framework, students apply centuries-old findings, such as the mass and distance dependence of gravitational attraction and the details of elliptical planetary orbits. The sequence encourages discussion on the relevance and limits of these laws in today’s science.

Surprisingly, systems such as KOI-55 and K2-285 exhibit markedly smaller ratios between period and semimajor axis than the expected 3:2 ratio. These classroom findings expose students to open scientific inquiry, encouraging exploration of how physical laws apply across planetary systems.

The group hopes the work stokes further interest in bringing cutting-edge astrophysics to the classroom.

Source: “Analyzing new planetary systems at school: Applications of Newton’s Universal Gravitation and Kepler’s Third Law,” by Rubén Montecinos Barros, Carla Hernandez, Irma Fuentes-Morales, Fernanda Alarcón, Ignacia Benito Cisterna, Luciano Laroze, and Sebastian Perez, The Physics Teacher (2025). The article can be accessed at https://doi.org/10.1063/5.0192450 .