The Galactic Exoplanet Survey Telescope (GEST): A Search for Terrestrial Extra-solar Planets via Gravitational Microlensing

Details The Galactic Exoplanet Survey Telescope (GEST): A Search for Terrestrial Extra-solar Planets via Gravitational Microlensing The Galactic Exoplanet Survey Telescope (GEST): A Search for Terrestrial Extra-solar Planets via Gravitational Microlensing

Dec 2000

adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-data_query?bibcode=2000aas...197.1108b&link_type=abstract

American Astronomical Society, 197th AAS Meeting, #11.08; Bulletin of the American Astronomical Society, Vol. 32, p.1417

Astronomy and Astrophysics

Astronomy

1

Scientific paper

GEST is a comprehensive extra-solar planet search mission sensitive to planets with masses as low as that of Mars. GEST will monitor the Galactic bulge for 8 months per year for three years to detect planets via gravitational microlensing and transits. GEST's microlensing survey will detect low-mass planets at separations of > 0.6 AU via high signal-to-noise variations of gravitational microlensing light curves. These planetary signals do not require follow-up observations to confirm the planetary interpretation, and they yield direct measurements of the star:planet mass ratio. GEST will be able to detect 100 Earth-mass planets at 1 AU (assuming 1 such planet per star) and will detect its first Earth-mass planets within a few months of launch. The GEST microlensing survey is the only proposed planet search program sensitive to old, free-floating planets. GEST's transit survey will search ~ 108 Galactic bulge stars for giant planets at separations of < 30 AU, and it is anticipated that more than 50,000 new giant planets will be discovered. When the Galactic bulge is not visible, GEST will survey ~ 1200 square degrees for Kuiper Belt Objects (KBOs) and operate a Participating Scienctist Program (PSP) with observational programs selected via competitive proposals. The KBO survey should discover 100,000 new KBOs.

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