A Southern Hemisphere Search for Extra-Solar Planets

保罗·巴特勒：“南半球寻找太阳系外行星”AST-9988087 PI们建议将他们在Lick天文台和Keck天文台非常成功地寻找太阳系外行星的工作扩展到南半球。原则上，在南方会发现更多的恒星，那里的恒星密度最大，之前对行星的调查工作很少。PI开创的测量恒星径向速度的碘池技术最近有所改进，现在有可能探测到木星和土星的类似物。这些行星比以前可探测到的行星质量更小，也更正常。英澳3.9米望远镜将被用来探测距离最近的600颗恒星。这一结果可能会为空间干涉测量任务的后续观测提供许多候选行星。该项目的资金由NSF恒星天文与天体物理计划(AST/SAA)提供。

ABSTRACTButler, Paul"A Southern Hemisphere Search for Extra-Solar Planets"AST-9988087The PIs propose to extend their very successful search for extra-solar planets at Lick Observatory and Keck Observatory to the southern hemisphere. In principle, even more stars harboring planets are to be found in the south, where the Galaxy's star density is greatest and little prior survey work for planets has been done. Recent improvements in the iodine cell technique for measuring stellar radial velocities pioneered by the PIs now have the potential to detect 'Jupiter and Saturn analogs.' These are less massive and more normal planets than previously detectable. The Anglo-Australian 3.9-m telescope will be used to survey the nearest 600 stars. The results are likely to provide many planetary candidates for follow-up observations with the Space Interferometry Mission.Funding for this project was provided by the NSF program for Stellar Astronomy & Astrophysics (AST/SAA).