A Southern Hemisphere Search for Extra-Solar Planets

PIs建议将他们在Lick天文台和Keck天文台非常成功的对太阳系外行星的搜索扩展到南半球。原则上，在银河系恒星密度最大的南部，会发现更多拥有行星的恒星，而此前对行星的调查工作却很少。最近，由ppi首创的用于测量恒星径向速度的碘电池技术的改进，现在有可能探测到“木星和土星的类似物”。与之前探测到的行星相比，这些行星质量更小，也更正常。这架3.9米的英澳望远镜将被用来观测最近的600颗恒星。这些结果很可能为空间干涉测量任务的后续观测提供许多候选行星。该项目由美国国家科学基金会恒星天文学和天体物理学项目（AST/SAA）提供资金。

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).