How to Use the Gravitational Microlensing Exoplanet 3D Explorer - Step by Step
The Gravitational Microlensing Exoplanet 3D Explorer starts as soon as the page loads: drag to orbit the alignment view, scroll or pinch to zoom, and watch the lens star cross the sight line to the background source star while the light-curve canvas below traces the brightness change. Everything renders on your own device - no install, no account.
Scrub the event timeline
Scrub the event timeline slider to move the lens star through closest approach - the light-curve canvas redraws in real time and a red marker shows exactly where you are on the brightness curve.
Press Play event and watch the curve rise
Press Play event and watch the smooth Paczynski-style brightening curve rise to its peak and fall back to baseline - the same shape astronomers look for in real survey data.
Toggle the planet spike
Toggle the planet spike to add or remove the short secondary bump a real orbiting planet contributes to the curve - notice how much narrower it is than the main event, exactly as the hours-to-days anomaly duration predicts.
Read the facts panel per stage
Read the facts panel beside the scene for the published detection figures: the first microlensing exoplanet, typical event duration, and the surveys and telescopes watching for the next ones.
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