Since our last advanced teachers’ training course at DLR Adlershof in May 2022, there were many new discoveries and developments in the world of exoplanets, which we wanted to pass along to the school teachers. In front of 15 participants, an overview and three examples of recent research success was given by SPP-coordination team member Ruth Titz-Weider. Ex-SPP-scientist Philipp Baumeister showed, how machine learning via neural networks essentially works and how to use it to find the many possible interior compositions of a planet with very low demands on computing power.
The third part of the event took place in the DLR_School_Lab, showcasing three experiments for school students related to planet research: Examining thin slices of meteorites under the microscope, investigating infrared radiation, and a 3-dimensional exploration of the Solar System on a touch screen table.
The event was conducted jointly by the SPP 1992, the DLR institute for planet research, and the DLR_School_Lab. The majority of participating teacher had already attended last year’s training course, and even the route from Dresden or Bad Nenndorf was not too long for some. We could once again make the subject of exoplanets accessible to schools and successfully showcase the DLR’s and SPP’s research efforts in this field.