The Direct Detection of Giant Extrasolar Planets with the NICI Science Campaign

通过这一奖项，Close博士、他的学生和他的合作者将支持双子座天文台(NSF赞助的天文设施)的超大型(500小时)近红外日冕成像仪(NICI)活动。目标是通过双通道甲烷波段(差分)成像技术对附近年轻恒星周围轨道上的太阳系外行星进行成像。预计将在150颗待探测的年轻恒星中探测到几颗巨行星。具体地说，克洛斯博士和他的学生将：1)设计高对比度观测程序，借鉴克洛斯博士之前调查中使用的复杂抖动/滚动/差分成像程序。2)根据不同的目标选择和对比，优化活动设计。3)帮助分析试运行数据和规划战役观测战略，并帮助分析和减少战役数据集4)提供在该项目中开发的独特软件工具，以允许自动探测NICI数据集中的暗行星。这些活动将支持和培训一些下一代大型望远镜观察员、自适应光学/日冕学专家以及尖端观测天文学家和行星猎人。通过这个项目，南双子座的大量研究生将在未来3年内几乎“实时”地获取和减少NICI数据。此外，NICI的活动比任何其他目前的调查都更有可能拍摄太阳系外行星的图像。第一张图片是一颗真正的太阳系外行星，它将对我们关于行星形成的知识以及太阳系拥有外部巨行星的频率产生革命性的影响。

Through this award, Dr. Close, his students, and collaborators will support the very large (500 hour) Near-Infrared Coronagraphic Imager (NICI) Campaign at the Gemini Observatory (an NSF sponsored astronomical facility). The goal is to image extrasolar planets in orbit around nearby young stars through a dual-channel methane-band (differential) imaging technique. It is expected that several giant planets will be detected among the 150 young stars to be surveyed.Specifically, Dr. Close and his students will:1) Design the high-contrast observing procedure, drawing on the complex dither/roll/differential imaging procedures used throughout Dr. Close's previous surveys. 2) Optimize the design of the Campaign, based on different target selections and contrasts. 3) Help to analyze the commissioning data and plan the Campaign observing strategy and also help with the analysis and reduction of the Campaign datasets4) Provide unique software tools developed in this project to allow the automatic detection of faint planets in NICI datasets. These activities will support and train some of the next generation of large telescope observers, adaptive optics/coronagraphy experts, and cutting-edge observational astronomers and planet hunters. Through this project there will be significant graduate student presence at Gemini-South taking and reducing NICI data in nearly "real-time" over the next 3 years. In addition, the NICI campaign is better poised to image extrasolar planets than any other current survey. The first images a bona-fide extrasolar planet will have transformative impact on our knowledge of planet formation and the frequency of solar systems with outer giant planets.