But upon looking closer at the Kepler space telescope data, they were surprised by how sharply the light dipped.
Check everything twice, front light (dipped and main beam), back light (headlight on and brake light), indicators, horn, started motor (if fitted).
Despite his serious approach, Mr Stuart has a relaxed, semi-anecdotal style which repays both careful engagement and lighter dipping.
At its most compelling, Josie Rourke's production keeps the barrier between stage and auditorium, privacy and openness, permeable, with the lights dipping and blaring to shroud and expose the audience.
At the end of the concert, the lights dip into darkness.
It showed that aurora — which is akin to the Earth's northern lights — dipped low into the Red Planet's atmosphere.
As the lights dipped and the air turned a lovely cool ocean blue, the big screens showing images of an oddly cloudless surf and happy smiling favela kids, there was even something deliciously seductive about feeling the drip of bad news, the obstacles and outrages fade away for a moment.
Two-thirds of the way through the first night of her new play, the lights dipped suddenly (the cast carried on so blinklessly that the twilight could have been taken for part of the story) and a Porlocky person emerged from the wings to announce an electrical failure.
The duration of the dip tells the size of the planet, and the time between the light dips tells the length of the planet's orbit.
