STEM Program

AI and Exoplanets: Exploring New Worlds with Artificial Intelligence

Faculty Advisor: Independent researcher; Post-doctoral researcher, UCLA and CSUN; Ph.D., Astronomy and Astrophysics, Harvard

Research Program Introduction

In this program, students will embark on a journey that combines two of today’s most exciting frontiers: astronomy and artificial intelligence. We will explore how astronomers detect planets beyond our solar system, what makes some of these distant worlds potentially habitable, and how AI is transforming the way discoveries are made. 

From enhancing telescope images and analyzing massive datasets, to imagining future AI-powered space missions, students will see how machine learning is reshaping our understanding of the cosmos. 

Between sessions, students will work on their own projects, choosing from tracks such as data exploration, creative visualization or futuristic mission design.

The program concludes with a showcase where students present their findings, blending science, technology and imagination to ask one of humanity’s oldest questions: are we alone in the universe?

Possible Topics For Final Project:

  • Analyze real exoplanet light curve data (from NASA’s Kepler/TESS missions) using AI/ML methods

  • Use AI tools, such as image generators, to create scientifically inspired depictions of exoplanets

  • Choose a known exoplanet system and explore how AI has helped (or could help) study that system

  • Create a concept for an AI-powered telescope, satellite, or robotic explorer

  • Build a habitability index with AI by ranking real exoplanets based on features such as temperature, size, and orbital zone

  • Design a Human vs AI challenge by visually detecting transit signals in light curve data and comparing results with an AI model

  • Create a news-style article, blog post, or short video announcing the discovery of a new exoplanet with AI-generated graphics

  • Other professor-approved topics in this subject area that you are interested in

Program Detail

  • Cohort size: 3 to 6 students

  • Duration: 12 weeks

  • Workload: Around 4 to 5 hours per week (including session and homework time)

  • Target students: 9-12th grade students who are interested in Astronomy, AI, Earth and Planetary Sciences, or just a general curiosity about the cosmos.