Minerva: a dedicated exoplanet observatory

点击翻译按钮获取中文摘要

Minerva: a dedicated exoplanet observatory: Low-mass planets are extremely common, but the ability to characterise them in detail is severely limited by the availability of telescope time. The Minerva project, led by Harvard, is a dedicated multi-telescope facility which will be able to intensely monitor nearby bright stars for the small radial-velocity "wobbles" due to orbiting terrestrial planets. This project will purchase a telescope for the Minerva array. This innovative facility will give Australian exoplanetary scientists a privileged position in this new research. The arrangement will give the Australian and US partners exclusive access to the observational data on the smallest planets orbiting the nearest stars.