Biography:Maritza Soto
Maritza Soto | |
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| Born | Maritza Soto Vásquez 1990 (age 33–34) |
| Alma mater | University of Chile |
| Occupation | Astronomer |
Maritza Soto Vásquez (born 1990) is a Chile astronomer who discovered the exoplanets HD 110014 c (es), K2-237b, and K2-238b.
Career
On 19 August 2015, Soto confirmed the existence of exoplanet HD 110014 c (es). From La Silla Observatory, she discovered a planet 293 light-years away from Earth which orbits the red giant HD 110014 – Chi Virginis of the constellation Virgo. The planet, which has a mass three times that of Jupiter,[1][2] was named HD 110014 c, following international terminology. Although it had been detected in 2004 and 2011, Soto was the first to check and annotate the data to prove its existence.[3]
As a postdoctoral researcher and leader of a team of astronomers at the Queen Mary University of London, in the summer of 2018 Soto unveiled the discovery of two gaseous exoplanets orbiting different stars, K2-237b and K2-238b, both larger than Jupiter.[4] K2-237b orbits its star every two days, while K2-238b orbits every three days.[5] A paper about K2-237b and K2-238b was published with Soto as the first author in the Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society. K2-237b is a highly inflated hot Jupiter and orbits a relative bright star, making it a target for follow-up studies.[6]
Recognitions
In September 2018, Soto was nominated for the Natida Chileno del Año 2018 award, an initiative to recognize Chileans who excel in different areas.[4]
References
- ↑ Yáñez, Cecilia (2015-08-19). "Astrónoma chilena de 25 años descubre planeta tres veces más grande que Júpiter" (in Spanish). La Tercera. https://www.latercera.com/noticia/astronoma-chilena-de-25-anos-descubre-planeta-tres-veces-mas-grande-que-jupiter/.
- ↑ "Astrónoma chilena descubre nuevo planeta que gira en torno a una estrella" (in Spanish). 24 Horas. 2015-08-19. https://www.24horas.cl/tendencias/salud-bienestar/astronoma-chilena-descubre-nuevo-planeta-que-gira-en-torno-a-una-estrella-1760909.
- ↑ "La joven astrónoma chilena que descubrió un enorme planeta" (in Spanish). BBC Mundo. 2015-08-26. https://www.bbc.com/mundo/noticias/2015/08/150825_ciencia_joven_chilena_descubre_nuevo_planeta_bd.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 Aguilera, Rocío (2018-10-02). "La astrónoma chilena que ha descubierto tres planetas antes de cumplir 30 años" (in Spanish). El País. https://elpais.com/internacional/2018/10/02/america/1538445368_446776.html.
- ↑ Suazo, Camilo (2018-09-11). "Maritza Soto, la astrónoma chilena de 28 años que ha descubierto tres planetas" (in Spanish). Radio Bío-Bío. https://www.biobiochile.cl/noticias/ciencia-y-tecnologia/astronomia/2018/09/11/maritza-soto-la-astronoma-chilena-de-28-anos-que-ha-descubierto-tres-planetas.shtml.
- ↑ Soto, M. G.; Díaz, M. R.; Jenkins, J. S.; Rojas, F.; Espinoza, N.; Brahm, R.; Drass, H.; Jones, M. I. et al. (2018-08-21). "K2-237 b and K2-238 b: discovery and characterization of two new transiting hot Jupiters from K2" (in en). Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society 478 (4): 5356–5365. doi:10.1093/mnras/sty1334. ISSN 0035-8711.
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