The Hunt for Exomoons with Kepler (HEK): I. Description of a New Observational Project

Details The Hunt for Exomoons with Kepler (HEK): I. Description of a New Observational Project The Hunt for Exomoons with Kepler (HEK): I. Description of a New Observational Project

2012-01-03

arxiv.org/abs/1201.0752v2

Astrophys.J.750:115-134,2012

Astronomy and Astrophysics

Astrophysics

Earth and Planetary Astrophysics

21 pages, 8 figures, 4 tables, accepted in ApJ

Scientific paper

Two decades ago, empirical evidence concerning the existence and frequency of planets around stars, other than our own, was absent. Since this time, the detection of extrasolar planets from Jupiter-sized to most recently Earth-sized worlds has blossomed and we are finally able to shed light on the plurality of Earth-like, habitable planets in the cosmos. Extrasolar moons may also be frequent habitable worlds but their detection or even systematic pursuit remains lacking in the current literature. Here, we present a description of the first systematic search for extrasolar moons as part of a new observational project called "The Hunt for Exomoons with Kepler" (HEK). The HEK project distills the entire list of known transiting planet candidates found by Kepler (2326 at the time of writing) down to the most promising candidates for hosting a moon. Selected targets are fitted using a multimodal nested sampling algorithm coupled with a planet-with-moon light curve modelling routine. By comparing the Bayesian evidence of a planet-only model to that of a planet-with-moon, the detection process is handled in a Bayesian framework. In the case of null detections, upper limits derived from posteriors marginalised over the entire prior volume will be provided to inform the frequency of large moons around viable planetary hosts, eta-moon. After discussing our methodologies for target selection, modelling, fitting and vetting, we provide two example analyses.

Affiliated with

Also associated with

No associations

Rating

The Hunt for Exomoons with Kepler (HEK): I. Description of a New Observational Project does not yet have a rating. At this time, there are no reviews or comments for this scientific paper.

If you have personal experience with The Hunt for Exomoons with Kepler (HEK): I. Description of a New Observational Project, we encourage you to share that experience with our LandOfFree.com community. Your opinion is very important and The Hunt for Exomoons with Kepler (HEK): I. Description of a New Observational Project will most certainly appreciate the feedback.

Rate now

Comments { 0 }

Profile ID: LFWR-SCP-O-155901