Science Team Spotlight

Pavel Machalek, Ph.D. 

Data scientist, Kepler Mission 
A Day In The Life 
PPavel Machalekavel Machalek is a data scientist for the Kepler Mission. Prior to joining the team, he obtained his own funding to work on the Spitzer Space Telescope using infrared photometry to investigate Hot Jupiters, studying their temperature and structure. For Kepler, he is currently working on light curve settings for the photometer, detecting high precision photometry of Hot Jupiters as they travel behind their star. A good portion of Pavel’s day is spent troubleshooting issues, searching out possible defects in Kepler’s photometry. This work contributes to the day-to-day operation of the satellite. He and other data scientists must ensure that the data products streaming from the satellite are still valid on a bi-weekly, monthly and quarterly cycle in an iterative process to ensure that the photometer’s data runs smoothly. When necessary, he works closely with the Science Operations Center (SOC) to improve the software code and resolve issues. Pavel also helps produce documentation for both the pipeline and the public data release notes and is beginning to collaborate with the team on the Kepler scientific papers. 
Meaning of the Mission 
“The number one goal is to find a habitable planet, a second Earth; this mission doesn’t have the capability to discover life on an Earth-like planet, just the capability to discover a planet that lies in the habitable zone. This mission will also discover how frequently these rocky planets occur. I believe the idea of denouncing the possibility of a unique single Earth is an atheistic crusade; it is a way to fight back against religious dogmatism. It would be interesting to find out whether our Earth is the only one in the Universe or whether there are many others. In particular, it would be fascinating to contrast age-old and firmly held theological beliefs regarding the uniqueness of the Earth and our place in the Universe to the tantalizing possibility that there could be dozens, hundreds or even thousands of other worlds similar to our own.” 
To read Pavel’s biography, click here
By Kepler blog contributor, Marlowe Primack.

11 thoughts on “Science Team Spotlight”

  1. dear Pavel:

    do you really believe Human being can weigh the mass of Earth from 4 balls.

    tom jin

  2. I’m sorry about the rather tough time the mission seems to have running smoothly, but this is not that worrisome compared to the time it may take to publicize the result. I thought it was resolved that the data would not be proprietory for more than a year or two at the most.
    But at least for the public it seems after another year, we will get another “quarter of data”. At this rate the last quarter of year 3 would be released in about year 12. Have I got this wrong? Also it would be pleasing to get a few more reports as long as we have this blog! Thanks.

  3. Hi, nice work! I deal with a lot of data too and the first impression of your data looked like perhaps an average ‘earth-size’ planet could be 2 – 2.5 times the mass of our earth. Perhaps our earth is towards one extreme for size. Without knowing your data better it clearly could be an artifact. Would a planet with gravity at 2G may massively different? Who knows. Just a thought, perhaps already on your mind.

  4. It is always a special feeling to know more about scientist and space research. They give so much inspiration to youngsters really like and its contribution to world.

  5. Kepler found a planet in the habitual zone twice the size of Earth. It is thought to be more like a small Neptune than a large rocky planet. Question: Is Kepler capable of telling the difference between one large planet, and a somewhat smaller planet with a large moon, similar to our own world?

    Thank you
    Mark Piennett

  6. In such people who look for the second earth also didn’t dream us. At us the terrestrial purposes are clothes, a family, money, the house, holiday, the sea… it is a lot of only. And here people are interested in finding one more planets, similar to Earth. It will be simple offensively if right now there will be second Earth. The mankind isn’t ready to it. We can’t watch our planet, constantly we pollute it, we do it worse, and I think that we will turn a new planet into a dustbin. Yet we will not start to watch our planet – we can not keep the new

  7. The goal of the mission is really a great one. And the team that take part in it is very professional. It’s been a while since this post, I’m curious to know about your progress. Wish you all the best!

  8. this is a wonderful development “When necessary, he works closely with the Science Operations Center (SOC) to improve the software code and resolve issues. Pavel also helps produce documentation for both the pipeline and the public data release notes and is beginning to collaborate with the team on the Kepler scientific papers” thank you so much for sharing

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