What physical event is the transit method fundamentally based upon?
Answer
A planet temporarily blocking starlight.
The transit method relies on waiting for a planet to cross directly in front of its host star, which temporarily blocks a tiny fraction of the starlight reaching our telescopes, causing a measurable dimming.
#Videos
How Does the Transit Method Detect Exoplanets? - YouTube
Related Questions
What physical event is the transit method fundamentally based upon?What is the specific measurement of light intensity relied upon for exoplanet detection via transit?What is the resulting graph called when astronomers plot a star's brightness over time during transit monitoring?The fractional drop in flux ($d$) observed during a transit is primarily proportional to which mathematical relationship involving the planet's radius ($R_p$) and the star's radius ($R_s$)?Approximately how small is the brightness dip caused by an Earth-sized planet orbiting a Sun-like star?What crucial, independently determined measurement must astronomers have before calculating the absolute radius of the transiting planet?What orbital configuration is required for a planet to be observed using the transit method?What phenomenon causes the edge (limb) of a star to appear dimmer than its center, affecting the shape of the transit light curve?What is a major advantage of observing multiple transits of the same planet?Combining transit observations with different wavelengths of light allows researchers to study which aspect of the exoplanet?Why does the transit method present a geometric requirement that biases detection towards planets in small, tight orbits?