First Detections of Exop(lan)ets: Observations and Follow-Ups of the Floofiest Transits on Zoom

TL;DR

This paper reports the first detections and modeling of exopets, or 'floofy' objects, during Zoom meetings, using transit-like methods and citizen science data to infer their physical characteristics.

Contribution

It introduces a novel approach to studying exopets through transit modeling and citizen science, expanding the scope of astronomical observations to online virtual environments.

Findings

Detected and modeled 62 exopet events during Zoom meetings.

Inferred exopet properties such as mass, size, orbit, color, and floofiness.

Presented microlensing and direct imaging data for some targets.

Abstract

With the proliferation of online Zoom meetings as a means of doing science in the 2020s, astronomers have made new and unexpected Target of Opportunity (ToO) observations. Chief among these ToOs are observations of exop(lan)ets, or "exopets." Building on the work of Mayorga et al. (2021) - whose work characterized the rotational variations of "floofy" objects - we model exopets using methods similar to those used for exoplanetary transits. We present data collected for such exopet Zoom transits through a citizen science program in the month of February 2022. The dataset includes parameters like exopet color, floofiness, transit duration, and percentage of Zoom screen covered during the event. For some targets, we also present microlensing and direct imaging data. Using results from our modelling of 62 exopet observations as transits, microlensing, and direct imaging events, we discuss our inferences of exopet characteristics like their masses, sizes, orbits, colors, and floofiness.