https://www.benhord.com/home daily 1.0 2025-08-28 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/68ab4e36c093951a93044d27/653b444b-ef32-4832-9f92-2faa844f624c/Bent_line_right.png https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/68ab4e36c093951a93044d27/e20e5b10-6a64-4e55-af70-6a7515e87e3f/Bent_line_left+%281%29.png https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/68ab4e36c093951a93044d27/2232c8b8-c27f-47ae-9838-eda628742e1f/Bent_line__down_right.png https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/68ab4e36c093951a93044d27/47f8704b-bc73-45db-8810-a2b5b478ff64/Bent_line_down_left.png https://www.benhord.com/about daily 0.75 2025-09-01 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/68ab4e36c093951a93044d27/0499a5c1-cc1e-4225-ab99-56c4349e8788/ben_headshot.jpeg https://www.benhord.com/press daily 0.75 2025-08-28 https://www.benhord.com/contact daily 0.75 2025-08-24 https://www.benhord.com/research daily 0.75 2025-08-28 https://www.benhord.com/research/hot-jupiter-formation-and-system-architecture monthly 0.5 2025-08-25 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/68ab4e36c093951a93044d27/42724ab2-c018-46f8-b88a-d3afc60bd2cd/hj_companion_rate_est.jpg Research - Hot Jupiter Formation and System Architecture A Uniform Search for Nearby Planetary Companions to Hot Jupiters in TESS Data Reveals Hot Jupiters Are Still Lonely: I searched time series data from the Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS) for almost 200 known hot Jupiter systems to search for additional, nearby planets, indicative of a dynamically quiet migration mechanism. Finding none, I estimated the occurrence rate of these nearby companion planets to be about 7.3% of transiting hot Jupiter systems. This provides additional evidence that a dynamically active migration mechanism is the dominant formation mechanism of hot Jupiters. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/68ab4e36c093951a93044d27/96524ac7-d1de-4c5b-8e62-d6f9a560572a/wasp-132_LC.jpg Research - Hot Jupiter Formation and System Architecture The Discovery of a Planetary Companion Interior to Hot Jupiter WASP-132 b: Using time series search algorithms on data from the Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS), I discovered an additional small planet orbiting interior to the known hot Jupiter WASP-132 b. Using additional follow up observations, dynamical modeling, and statistical methods to validate the signal, I was able to determine that this periodic signal is from a bona fide planet, making it only the fourth such planet discovered out of the more than 500 hot Jupiter systems. This is definitive evidence that the WASP-132 system must have formed via a dynamically quiescent pathway, a huge step forward in understanding hot Jupiter formation as a whole. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/68ab4e36c093951a93044d27/663b77f5-931c-4d42-a9cb-8a62f97c178a/wasp_hjs_mass_density.jpg Research - Hot Jupiter Formation and System Architecture A Swarm of WASP Planets: Nine Giant Planets Identified by the WASP Survey: We searched time series data from the Wide Angle Survey for Planets (WASP) facility to discover nine new giant planets around bright stars. Using follow up data from ground- and space-based facilities, we were able to determine that these are bona fide planets. This adds a large haul of planets to the known hot Jupiter sample, including the hot Jupiter WASP-195 b, which is anomalously puffy for its mass, meaning that it may still be contracting from its initial formation, providing an excellent test bed for studying young hot Jupiter systems at the tail end of their formation. https://www.benhord.com/research/the-pandora-smallsat-mission monthly 0.5 2025-08-27 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/68ab4e36c093951a93044d27/4cd05289-8aa8-44e3-8595-89fa88b4c327/pandora_logo.jpeg Research - The Pandora SmallSat Mission The Pandora SmallSat: multiwavelength characterization of exoplanets and their host stars https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/68ab4e36c093951a93044d27/163c57e5-88c3-405e-84d1-af31d7a6293f/Pandora_mirror.jpg Research - The Pandora SmallSat Mission Open-source simulation tools for verifying NASA Pandora SmallSat's scientific performance https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/68ab4e36c093951a93044d27/7b1c13c4-9a0a-4a22-aaa5-c093867dbf5d/pandora_blank_background.webp Research - The Pandora SmallSat Mission The Pandora SmallSat: A Low-Cost, High Impact Mission to Study Exoplanets and Their Host Stars https://www.benhord.com/research/unique-systems-and-planetary-atmospheres monthly 0.5 2025-08-26 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/68ab4e36c093951a93044d27/0c56724a-7109-4850-b5ce-6b3b0d271fa9/best-in-class_grids.jpg Research - Unique Systems and Planetary Atmospheres Identification of the Top TESS Objects of Interest for Atmospheric Characterization of Transiting Exoplanets with JWST: Some planets are more amenable to study of their atmospheres than others. Using a pair of spectroscopy metrics, I identified which confirmed planets and planet candidates represented the field's best chances at detecting and studying exoplanet atmospheres across all regimes of exoplanets. For the planet candidates that made this "best-in-class" list, I utilized ground- and space-based follow up as well as statistical analysis techniques to determine which were real planets and which were false positives, leading to the discovery of almost two dozen new planets, all of which are some of the best planets for atmospheric study. Many of the planets in this ranked population have since been approved for observation with JWST and the framework for prioritizing planetary atmospheric observations has streamlined the community's efforts for studying planetary atmospheres. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/68ab4e36c093951a93044d27/d2eea801-f44b-4fa3-aa08-b921bc3ed7c2/TOI_700_System_Still_E.jpg Research - Unique Systems and Planetary Atmospheres The First Habitable-zone Earth-sized Planet from TESS. I. Validation of the TOI-700 System: Using data from the Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS), we discovered the first TESS system hosting an Earth-sized planet orbiting in its star's habitable zone, the zone in which the temperature is just right for liquid water -- a building block of life -- to exist on its surface. This discovery of this system has revolutionized the search for habitable planets around other stars, since only a handful of potential candidates are known, almost all of which are too far or too faint for follow up study. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/68ab4e36c093951a93044d27/bfe0a88f-2a7a-41bd-bd44-cbccda1f52b4/TOI-700e_lightcurve.jpg Research - Unique Systems and Planetary Atmospheres A Second Earth-sized Planet in the Habitable Zone of the M Dwarf, TOI-700: Using additional data from the Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS), we were able to identify a second Earth-sized planet in the star's habitable zone, making the TOI-700 system an exceedingly rare system with multiple Earth-sized, habitable zone planets. This provides an extremely valuable test bed in the search for life on other planets as it allows for the comparison between multiple planets within the same system. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/68ab4e36c093951a93044d27/fa6963e4-9833-42d1-881f-fdfebc61dc84/lhs1678_HR_gap.jpg Research - Unique Systems and Planetary Atmospheres The LHS 1678 System: Two Earth-sized Transiting Planets and an Astrometric Companion Orbiting an M Dwarf Near the Convective Boundary at 20 pc: The star LHS 1678 resides in a "gap" in the HR diagram that marks the transition between fully and partially convective M dwarfs. Stars oscillate between either side of this gap, pulsing their radius as they do so. The discovery of planets around such a star provides an excellent laboratory to study how a changing host star affects its planets over long timescales. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/68ab4e36c093951a93044d27/d6b1aa42-479c-4f84-be4b-3ef0dd578bcc/TOI-2095_transits.jpg Research - Unique Systems and Planetary Atmospheres Two Warm Super-Earths Transiting the Nearby M Dwarf TOI-2095: The transition regime between terrestrial planets and gaseous planets is poorly understood but holds a major key in understanding how planets evolve over time. The discovery of two super-Earth planets in the lower mass edge of this transition region provides crucial data points in understanding this regime. Furthermore, both of these planets have temperatures similar to that of Venus, allowing for the comparison to, and the potential for additional insights into, a planet much closer to home.