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[Playful music throughout]
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[Many stars, including our own Sun, are polka dotted.]
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[Now scientists have a new tool that can help
map a star’s spots using orbiting planets.]
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[When a planet passes in front of its star, the star’s light dims.]
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[Missions like NASA’s TESS can track the star’s brightness as it changes.]
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[If a planet doesn’t cross over a spot, the star’s brightness follows a smooth curve.]
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[If the planet does cross a spot, there’s an extra dip within the curve.]
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[The more spots a planet crosses, the more jagged the curve becomes.]
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[The new tool, StarryStarryProcess, uses these curves to determine how many spots the star might have, where they are, and other factors.]
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[Stellar activity like star spots can both change a planet’s atmosphere and make it difficult to measure.]
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[Missions like NASA’s upcoming Pandora can use tools like this one to study stars and their planets]
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[as we continue to explore our universe.]
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[NASA]