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| Staffordshire schoolboy discovers new planet | Staffordshire schoolboy discovers new planet |
| (about 7 hours later) | |
| A planet 1,000 light-years away has been found by a schoolboy from Staffordshire. | |
| Tom Wagg, 17, a student at Newcastle-under-Lyme School, said he was "hugely excited" by his discovery. | Tom Wagg, 17, a student at Newcastle-under-Lyme School, said he was "hugely excited" by his discovery. |
| He was 15-years-old when he spotted the planet while doing work experience at Keele University and it took two years to prove its existence. | He was 15-years-old when he spotted the planet while doing work experience at Keele University and it took two years to prove its existence. |
| The planet does not have a name yet and a competition has been launched to find one. | The planet does not have a name yet and a competition has been launched to find one. |
| Keele University's Professor Coel Hellier said Tom looked through an archive of data for "good planet candidates". | Keele University's Professor Coel Hellier said Tom looked through an archive of data for "good planet candidates". |
| He searched through images of the night sky looking for tiny dips in light caused by a planet passing in front of its star. | He searched through images of the night sky looking for tiny dips in light caused by a planet passing in front of its star. |
| "We then had to do follow up observations using telescopes in Chile," Prof Hellier said. Scientists from Switzerland, France and Belgium were also involved. | "We then had to do follow up observations using telescopes in Chile," Prof Hellier said. Scientists from Switzerland, France and Belgium were also involved. |
| Keele University is part of a nationwide collaboration of observatories called the Wide Angle Search for Planets (WASP). | Keele University is part of a nationwide collaboration of observatories called the Wide Angle Search for Planets (WASP). |
| The planet was given the number WASP-142b, being the 142nd planet discovered by the WASP group. | The planet was given the number WASP-142b, being the 142nd planet discovered by the WASP group. |