Ground-Based Light Curve Follow-Up Validation of TESS Object of Interest TOI 5944.01

The Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS) mission was launched in 2018 to discover exoplanets using bright star transits. TESS identified Target of Interest (TOI) 5944.01 as a potential planet candidate due to its periodic dips in brightness consistent with a transiting object such as an exoplanet. However, space-based photometry alone cannot confirm whether such signals are due to real exoplanets or false positives. To assess this candidate, a ground-based photometric follow-up was used to confirm the dip during transit, and a nearby eclipsing binary (NEB) check was conducted to rule out any false positives. Using George Mason University’s (GMU) Observatory, 194 photos were taken of TOI 5944.01 to produce a light curve, and the photos were analyzed to detect any transit-like features that happened during the expected time. By observing the dip in brightness closely matched with the predicted transit window from the TESS mission, we can support the possibility that TOI 5944.01 is either a real exoplanet candidate or rule it out as a false positive. The light curve produced did indicate a promising transit during the ingress/egress times of 20.3 ppt. Still, confirmation and further analysis of TOI 5944.01 will be needed to determine the discovery of this potentially habitable exoplanet outside the solar system.