Astronomy and Astrophysics – Astrophysics
Scientific paper
2000-03-08
Astronomy and Astrophysics
Astrophysics
7 pages with 14 color postscript figures included. Will appear in the proceedings of the Disks, Planetesimals & Planets Meetin
Scientific paper
We present a conceptual design for a space based Galactic Exoplanet Survey Telescope (GEST) which will use the gravitational microlensing technique to detect extra solar planets with masses as low as that of Mars at all separations >~ 1 AU. The microlensing data would be collected by a diffraction limited, wide field imaging telescope of ~ 1.5m aperture equipped with a large array of red-optimized CCD detectors. Such a system would be able to monitor $\sim 2\times 10^8$ stars in $\sim 6$ square degrees of the Galactic bulge at intervals of 20-30 minutes, and it would observe $\sim 12000$ microlensing events in three bulge seasons. If planetary systems like our own are common, GEST should be able to detect $\sim 5000$ planets over a 2.5 year lifetime. If gas giants like Jupiter and Saturn are rare, then GEST would detect $\sim 1300$ planets in a 2.5 year mission if we assume that most planetary systems are dominated by planets of about Neptune's' mass. Such a mission would also discover $\sim 100$ planets of an Earth mass or smaller if such planets are common. This is a factor of $\sim 50$ better than the most ambitious ground based programs that have been proposed. GEST will also be sensitive to planets which have been separated from their parent stars.
Bennett David P.
Rhie Sun Hong
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