MINERVA: Purchase of Kiwispec, a Robotic Precision Spectrograph to Detect Earth-Like Planets Around Nearby Stars

在过去的20年里，天文学家已经发现了数千颗围绕其他恒星运行的行星。这些“系外行星”大多是像木星或土星这样的气态巨行星。探测与地球或金星类似的较小的系外行星——或者质量更大的“超级地球”——需要非常高精度的测量。探测器将使用四个直径小于0.7米的小型望远镜来完成这些测量。光纤将把望远镜发出的光送入安装在温度可控真空环境中的摄谱仪。天文学家将使用这个名为“MINERVA”的仪器来探测附近明亮恒星周围的类地行星或超级地球。这些观测增加了我们对类地系外行星的识别，为国家利益服务。首席研究员还将在天文学课上使用MINERVA进行远程观测，并通过他在哈佛大学创建的班纳克研究所（Banneker Institute）招募代表性不足的少数民族进入STEM职业。研究人员将建造美国第一个专门用于精确径向速度和过境光度测量的机器人设施。这个名为MINERVA的设施将使用四个0.7米的望远镜，同时为一个小型的台架光谱仪提供光纤。通过将真空和温控环境的稳定性与光纤置乱和碘电池校准方法相结合，该光谱仪预计将达到0.8 m/s的精度。大部分设备已经到位，并可以由机器人操作；只有光谱仪还有待安装和调试。这个项目的智力价值在于有可能在附近明亮的恒星周围发现类地行星，以及在明亮的类日恒星的可居住区域发现超级地球。该项目的广泛影响是巨大的。它们包括开展教育和公共宣传活动的天然潜力。这些望远镜还将在合作机构的天文学课程中用于远程观测。更重要的是，PI在哈佛创建了班纳克研究所，其具体目的是积极招募代表性不足的少数民族更广泛地参与天文学和STEM学科。

Over the past 20 years, astronomers have discovered thousands of planets around other stars. Most of these "exoplanets" are gas giants like Jupiter or Saturn. To detect smaller exoplanets similar to Earth or Venus - or "super Earths" with larger masses - requires very high-precision measurements. The Investigators will accomplish these measurements using four small telescopes, each less than 0.7 meters in diameter. Optical fibers will feed light from the telescopes into a spectrograph mounted in a temperature-controlled vacuum environment. Astronomers will use this instrument - named "MINERVA" - to detect Earth-like planets or super-Earths around nearby bright stars. These observations serve the national interest by increasing our identification of Earth-like exoplanets. The Principal Investigator will also use MINERVA for remote observing in astronomy classes, and through the Banneker Institute he created at Harvard to recruit under-represented minorities into STEM careers.The Investigators will construct the first U.S. robotic facility dedicated to precise radial velocities and transit photometry. Named MINERVA, this facility will employ four 0.7-meter telescopes that simultaneously fiber-feed a small bench-mounted spectrometer. The spectrometer is expected to reach 0.8 m/s precision by combining the stability of an evacuated and temperature-controlled environment with fiber scrambling and the iodine-cell calibration method. Most of the equipment is already in place and robotically operational; only the spectrometer remains to be installed and commissioned. The Intellectual Merit of the project is the potential for discovering Earth-like planets around nearby, bright stars as well as super-Earths in the habitable zones of bright, Sun-like stars. The Broader Impacts of the project are substantial. They include a natural potential for educational and public-outreach activities. The telescopes will also be used for remote observing in astronomy courses at the partner institutions. Even more important, the PI has created the Banneker Institute at Harvard with the specific purpose of actively recruiting under-represented minorities to astronomy and STEM disciplines more generally.