A Christmas Star (Minus the Star, Plus a Moon Nobody Asked For)

A browser-based simulator for exoplanet transit photometry, binary eclipses, and exomoon scenarios — with Keplerian and N-body paths, limb-darkening models, and timing diagnostics. It is an educational simulator, not a validated research pipeline. I spent Christmas on this. You’re welcome, science.

25 December 2025 · 7 min · Sebastian Spicker

Can a Planet Have a Moon? Teaching Exomoon Detection with a Disco Ball Motor

Every classroom treatment of exoplanet detection focuses on the transit method. What gets omitted is that moons of exoplanets could also host life — and that with a small motor and a slight modification to the standard transit experiment, you can show students what an exomoon signature looks like in a light curve. Published in MNU Journal in 2023.

14 September 2023 · 8 min · Sebastian Spicker