TEO MOČNIK

About:

I am a scientist at Gemini Observatory in Hawaii since 2020. My job is to observe with the 8.1-m Gemini Telescope, prepare observing plans, build useful astronomy software, support instrument operations and development, and help astronomers maximize science return from their allocated observing time. Beside the various instrumentation projects, I search for exoplanets using the photometric transit method and measure their masses through high-precision spectroscopy by detecting the gravitational pull they exert on their host stars. Before joining Gemini, I was a postdoctoral researcher in the field of exoplanets at the University of California in Riverside working with Prof. Stephen Kane, and a PhD student at Keele University in England where I studied exoplanets with Prof. Coel Hellier. I am a keen stargazer and have always enjoyed organizing and participating in public stargazing events, giving observatory tours and chatting astronomy with the public.