Score: 0
Detector Integrity READY
Time: 90
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About Signal Hunter

Detect transit dips and radial wobbles to find exoplanets in this free online astronomy game about hunting alien worlds.

Signal Hunter is a free online exoplanet detection game where you pilot a space telescope across a survey field, logging real planets while rejecting impostor signals. It models the actual workflow of observatories like Kepler and TESS that scan thousands of stars for the tell-tale flicker of a transiting world.

The core mechanic is transit photometry. When a planet crosses the face of its star it blocks a sliver of light, producing a brief dip that repeats every orbit. The flash sprites on the star mimic those dips. False positives matter too: background eclipsing binary stars create nearly identical signals and cause most rejected candidates in real surveys. Stellar flares and micrometeorite strikes degrade real instruments, which is why contact damages your detector integrity.

The rarest catches mirror frontier science. Oxygen mixed with methane is a biosignature because both gases vanish unless life constantly replenishes them. And in 2026 astronomers announced the first auroral radio emission ever detected from an exoplanet, Beta Pictoris b, proving that alien worlds carry magnetic fields like Jupiter's. Snagging a fast radio burst is intentionally hard because those signals are fleeting in reality too.

Key Science Concepts

What You'll Learn

Grade Level: Middle School, High School

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How to play

  1. Steer the Telescope Move your mouse or drag to sweep the SGL-1 telescope across the star field.
  2. Confirm Planets Fly over drifting exoplanets to log confirmed detections and earn score.
  3. Catch Transit Dips A flash on the star means a planet is crossing. Lock onto it before the dip fades.
  4. Chase Rare Signals Radio bursts and oxygen biosignatures streak by quickly but pay jackpot points.
  5. Reject False Positives Eclipsing binaries mimic planets. Logging one wastes points, and flares and debris scorch your detector.
  6. Recalibrate and Combo Tap the Detector Integrity gauge for an emergency sweep. Chain detections to trigger Deep Survey double score.

Frequently asked questions

Is Signal Hunter free to play?
Yes. Signal Hunter is completely free to play in your browser. There is no download, install or account needed.
What grade level is Signal Hunter for?
Signal Hunter is designed for Middle School, High School students and works well as a classroom activity or homework.
Does Signal Hunter work on phones and tablets?
Yes. Signal Hunter runs in any modern browser on desktop computers, Chromebooks, tablets and phones in landscape mode.

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