Discovery of comets outside our solar system is thanks to an amateur astronomer

Citizen scientists all over the world work to aid in scientific discovery by combing through data and looking to the sky with backyard telescopes. 

And today, a discovery detailed in a newly-released study shows how that hard work can pay off. 

Thanks to amateur astronomer Thomas Jacobs of Bellevue, Washington, scientists have found evidence of comets circling a star called KIC 3542116 that’s 800 light-years away from Earth. 

Jacobs was sifting through data collected by the Kepler Space Telescope in his spare time and came across an unusual signal in the noise. He got in touch with physics professor Saul Rappaport, and Rappaport got to work. Read more…

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