Qatar Exoplanet Survey (QES), a research project by Qatar National Research Fund, Qatar Foundation and Hamad Bin Khalifa University have announced the discovery of a new planet – “Qatar 6b.” The discovery was published in the International Astronomical Journal, one of the world’s foremost journals in astronomy and astrophysics.
The latest discovery of Qatar 6b adds a rare specimen of planet to the nation’s list of discoveries made in its new history of space exploration.
Led by Qatari astronomer, acting executive director of Qatar Environment and Energy Research Institute, Dr Khalid A al-Subai, the research team was able to discover the new exoplanet after a thorough undertaking, involving the study of thousands of celestial images taken by the specialised ground-based observatories of QES situated in three different geographic locations: New Mexico (USA), Canary Islands (Spain), and Urumqi (China). The International Astronomical Union in association with the researchers, named the planet according to the satellite nomenclature in place and named it “Qatar-6b,” with respect to the fact that the feat marked the country’s sixth planetary discovery.
This is the first time students from Qatar have actively contributed to the planetary discovery through their analysis of the data. The participation of the students at QES enabled them to gain an insight into modern monitoring methods. It is also the first time that the names of high school students have been published as participating researchers in a renowned international scientific journal.
Qatar 6b
