A Teen Discovers a Planet.

• Author: Grise, Chrisanne
• Position: Q&A Corner - Wolf Cukier - Interview

On the third day of his internship with NASA, Wolf Cukier, a 17-year-old from Scarsdale, New York, was sifting through data when he noticed something unusual.

It turned out to be a planet, now named TO11338 b. It's about the size of Saturn, lies 1,300 light-years away from Earth, and orbits two stars.

(This interview was edited and condensed for length and clarity.)

Q: What made you want to be a NASA intern?

A: I've pretty much always been interested in space. I joined the science research program at my school in my sophomore year, which helps kids get experience.

Q: How did it feel when you realized what you'd discovered?

A: It was exciting. This is only the 13th planet of its kind. I obviously hoped to find something, but the fact that I was able to find a planet and that I was able to find one so quickly was astonishing.

Q: You've been getting a lot of attention for this discovery. What's that been like?

A: Overwhelming and surreal. I...