Automatic Telescope Search for Extrasolar Planets

Details Automatic Telescope Search for Extrasolar Planets Automatic Telescope Search for Extrasolar Planets

Feb 1998

adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-data_query?bibcode=1998taas....2..679h&link_type=abstract

NASA University Research Centers Technical Advances in Aeronautics, Space Sciences and Technology, Earth Systems Sciences, Globa

Computer Science

1

Automatic Control, Telescopes, Solar Instruments, Extrasolar Planets, Sun, Quality Control, Radial Velocity, Variations, Radiometers

Scientific paper

We are using automatic photoelectric telescopes at the Tennessee State University Center for Automated Space Science to search for planets around nearby stars in our galaxy. Over the past several years, wc have developed the capability to make extremely precise measurements of brightness changes in Sun-like stars with automatic telescopes. Extensive quality control and calibration measurements result in a precision of 0.l% for a single nightly observation and 0.0270 for yearly means, far better than previously thought possible with ground-based observations. We are able, for the first time, to trace brightness changes in Sun-like stars that are of similar amplitude to brightness changes in the Sun, whose changes can be observed only with space-based radiometers. Recently exciting discoveries of the first extrasolar planets have been announced, based on the detection of very small radial-velocity variations that imply the existence of planets in orbit around several Sun-like stars. Our precise brightness measurements have been crucial for the confirmation of these discoveries by helping to eliminate alternative explanations for the radial-velocity variations. With our automatic telescopes, we are also searching for transits of these planets across the disks of their stars in order to conclusively verify their existence. The detection of transits would provide the first direct measurements of the sizes, masses, and densities of these planets and, hence, information on their compositions and origins.

Affiliated with

Also associated with

No associations

Rating

Automatic Telescope Search for Extrasolar Planets 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 Automatic Telescope Search for Extrasolar Planets, we encourage you to share that experience with our LandOfFree.com community. Your opinion is very important and Automatic Telescope Search for Extrasolar Planets will most certainly appreciate the feedback.

Rate now

Comments { 0 }

Profile ID: LFWR-SCP-O-1648519