Maritza Soto

Maritza Soto Vásquez (born 1990) is a Chilean astronomer who discovered the exoplanets HD 110014 c, K2-237b, and K2-238b.

Maritza Soto
Born
Maritza Soto Vásquez

1990 (age 30–31)
Alma materUniversity of Chile
OccupationAstronomer

Career

On 19 August 2015, Soto confirmed the existence of exoplanet HD 110014 c. 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
  1. Yáñez, Cecilia (19 August 2015). "Astrónoma chilena de 25 años descubre planeta tres veces más grande que Júpiter" [25-year-old Chilean Astronomer Discovers Planet Three Times Bigger Than Jupiter]. La Tercera (in Spanish). Retrieved 8 June 2019.
  2. "Astrónoma chilena descubre nuevo planeta que gira en torno a una estrella" [Chilean Astronomer Discovers a New Planet That Orbits a Star] (in Spanish). 24 Horas. 19 August 2015. Retrieved 8 June 2019.
  3. "La joven astrónoma chilena que descubrió un enorme planeta" [The Young Chilean Astronomer Who Discovered an Enormous Planet] (in Spanish). BBC Mundo. 26 August 2015. Retrieved 8 June 2019.
  4. Aguilera, Rocío (2 October 2018). "La astrónoma chilena que ha descubierto tres planetas antes de cumplir 30 años" [The Chilean Astronomer Who Has Discovered Three Planets Before Turning 30]. El País (in Spanish). Retrieved 8 June 2019.
  5. Suazo, Camilo (11 September 2018). "Maritza Soto, la astrónoma chilena de 28 años que ha descubierto tres planetas" [Maritza Soto, the 28-Year-Old Chilean Astronomer Who Has Discovered Three Planets] (in Spanish). Radio Bío-Bío. Retrieved 8 June 2019.
  6. Soto, M. G.; Díaz, M. R.; Jenkins, J. S.; Rojas, F.; Espinoza, N.; Brahm, R.; Drass, H.; Jones, M. I.; Rabus, M.; Hartman, J.; Sarkis, P. (21 August 2018). "K2-237 b and K2-238 b: discovery and characterization of two new transiting hot Jupiters from K2". Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society. 478 (4): 5356–5365. arXiv:1801.07959. doi:10.1093/mnras/sty1334. ISSN 0035-8711.
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