Continuation of a Survey of Nearby Stars for Extrasolar Planets

首席研究员和合作者将继续对附近恒星周围的行星进行世界上最高精度和最深入的调查。系外行星是通过测量恒星的反射质心摆动来间接探测到的，这种摆动是由看不见的轨道行星的牵引引起的。迄今为止，这是唯一成功安全地发现系外行星的方法。在已知的100颗行星中，大约有70%是由这个项目的研究小组发现的。他们的行星调查达到了一种精度，可以追踪到恒星速度每秒2-3米的摆动，在最好的情况下，可以发现只有几个地球质量的行星伴星。凯克巡天计划从1996年开始进行，目前正在监测距离太阳150光年以内的大约700颗恒星，以寻找行星，并且正在稳步积累大量行星，这些行星是描述行星系统所必需的。这项研究还将确定在附近恒星周围寻找类地行星的最有希望的目标，这些行星可能有一天能够被太空任务成像并探测到生命迹象的证据。更广泛的影响。凯克系外行星调查是教育年轻科学家，特别是女性天体物理学研究生的工具。她们的参与促进了发现，同时促进了女性天文学家的教学和培训，这是一个在天体物理学中代表性不足的群体。公众外展进一步扩大了影响。寻找系外行星在公众中引起了强烈的共鸣，并且在过去的6年里占据了大众科学媒体的版面。提案人做了许多公开演讲、新闻采访、科学会议上的演讲，并撰写了受欢迎的评论文章。

VogtAST 0307493The Principle Investigator and collaborators will continue the worlds highest-precision and deepest-reach survey for planets around nearby stars. Extrasolar planets are detected indirectly by measuring the reflex barycentric wobble of a star caused by tugging from its unseen orbiting planet. To date, this is the only method that has succeeded in securely finding extrasolar planets. About 70% of the 100 known planets were discovered by the research team of this project. Their planet survey reaches a precision which allows stellar velocity wobbles as small as 2-3 meters per second to be tracked, revealing planetary companions down to only a few earth-masses in the best cases. The Keck survey, underway since 1996, is monitoring about 700 stars within 150 light-years of the Sun for planets, and is steadily accumulating the large numbers of planets required to characterize planetary systems. This research will also identify the most promising targets for finding earth-like planets around nearby stars, planets that space missions may someday be able to image and probe for evidence of life signs.Broader Impacts. The Keck exoplanet survey serves as a vehicle for educating young scientists, particularly female astrophysics graduate students. Their participation advances discovery while promoting the teaching and training of woman astronomers, an underrepresented group in astrophysics. Public outreach further broadens the impact. The hunt for extrasolar planets resonates strongly with the public, and has dominated the pages of popular science media for the past 6 years. The proposers give many public talks, press interviews, talks at scientific conferences, and write popular review articles.