Pavel Rabtsevich, a product manager with a passion for astronomy, may have stumbled upon a new exoplanet while analyzing data from the TESS space telescope using Claude Code. Last month, he focused on the star TIC 4206066, located 116 light-years away from Earth. He observed that approximately every 3.18 days, the star’s brightness dims by 0.05% for a duration of two hours, suggesting the presence of a planet that could have a radius about 1.4 times that of Earth.
Over the course of two weeks, Rabtsevich conducted 74 different analyses with the help of Claude, continuously providing the AI with fresh approaches to test the validity of his hypothesis. A key piece of evidence supporting his findings is the fact that this same pattern has been detected in data from years 2018, 2020, and 2025, indicating it is not just random fluctuations. The orbital calculations based on two years of observations accurately predicted the potential planet's transits across the star's surface in the third year, which had not been included in earlier assessments.
Rabtsevich also speculates that there could be another planet orbiting the same star, but acknowledges that the supporting evidence for this second body is substantially weaker, leading him to concentrate primarily on the first discovery.
The opportunity to verify these findings may arise soon, as the telescope is scheduled to observe this region of the sky again from October 31 to November 26. Rabtsevich has requested that the TESS mission team monitor the brightness of the star every two minutes, and his proposal has received approval.
In online discussions, many users are enthusiastically dubbing this endeavor as "vibe astronomy." One commenter, an exoplanet researcher, verified the findings and described the candidate as "totally reasonable," while another Reddit user offered to connect Rabtsevich with an exoplanet research group at their university.
As excitement builds, discussions about what to name the new planet are underway, with suggestions ranging from naming it after Claude to honoring Pavel himself.
Informational material. 18+.
