Astronomy and Astrophysics – Astronomy
Scientific paper
Sep 2011
adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-data_query?bibcode=2011ess.....2.1916b&link_type=abstract
American Astronomical Society, ESS meeting #2, #19.16
Astronomy and Astrophysics
Astronomy
Scientific paper
The small radii and cool temperatures of M dwarfs make them favorable targets for transiting planet surveys of habitable-zone Earth and super-Earth planets. The MEarth survey has detected a super-Earth orbiting the nearby M5 star GJ 1214 and estimated the planetary mass and radius precisely. Despite this success, the MEarth survey encounters photometric noise larger than expected based upon Poisson and scintillation sources alone. I have identified precipitable water vapor (PWV) variations in the Earth's atmosphere as the likely predominant source of excess systematic noise in the MEarth survey photometry. Based upon theoretical calculations of the PWV induced noise, I show potential filter choices that eliminate PWV induced noise to a sufficient level to detect transiting Earth-sized planets from the ground around M dwarf hosts. Through detecting super-Earth planets, the MEarth project provides valuable insight into exploring and eliminating any technical limitations to ground based detections of smaller, truly Earth-sized, planets in the habitable-zone of the brightest M dwarfs.
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