The discovery of a new planet by an ISU faculty member gives clues to the future of our own planet.

Steven Kawaler, professor of physics and astronomy, said the ability for the planet, V 381 Pegasi B, to survive the dramatic changes during the life of its surrounding stars is amazing in its own right.

“This discovery indicates the usage of a pulsating star,” Kawaler said. “This planet has survived around a very involved star, which allows us to believe that it can survive dramatic changes in the star.”

One of the changes Kawaler discovered was the planet’s ability to survive during the star’s transformation through the red giant stage, which not only expands the star, but also dramatically increases its intensity.

When Kawaler’s findings are applied to the distant future of Earth and its relationship to the sun, it gives a glimmer of hope our own planet will be able to survive the inevitable changes our own sun is bound to experience in the very distant future. The reason the statistics and findings can’t be directly correlated is because of the enormous size differences between Earth and V 381 Pegasi B.

Kawaler spent countless hours tracing the pulsating nature of stars that were light years away. The result of Kawaler and his team’s work lies in the form of V 381 Pegasi B, a planet nearly three times the mass of Jupiter, the largest planet in our own solar system.

While some scientists rely on technology as an integral part of their studies, Kawaler and his team used a copious amount of data analysis and surveillance of pulsating stars to uncover the planet.

Using a method called spectroscopy, Kawaler and his team were able to detect the motion of V 381 Pegasi B across the face of a pulsating star.

“We used the star as a clock to detect the motion based on the planet crossing during pulses,” Kawaler said. “Normally when you’re looking for planets, it’s a bad technique.”

Luckily for the ISU professor, the discovery more or less fell into his lap.

“Originally we weren’t looking for a planet,” Kawaler said. “Project leader Roberto Silvotti kept track of pulsations of the star-like earthquakes and used seven-year timing residuals to show the star was being shoved back and forth by the planet.”

For Kawaler, the satisfaction of unveiling a new planet can be traced back to his initial interest of becoming an astronomer.

“When I was a kid I thought astronomy was cool because of Star Trek,” Kawaler said. “This is getting back to what originally brought me into the profession.”

Around campus, students are taken aback by the findings of the ISU professor, while the exact definition of what a planet actually is changes from student to student.

“I think planets have to have satellites around it, moons or something that orbit it,” said Eric Ensey, freshman in liberal arts and sciences-open option. “Discovering a giant planet is a really big deal.”

Other students such as Kenan Clute, senior in marketing, had more of a broad idea of what defines a planet.

“I think it’s just a mass of matter,” Clute said.