COLLABORATIVE RESEARCH: Project 1640: Hyperspectral Imaging Survey of Nearby Stellar Environments

该奖项是根据2009年《美国复苏和再投资法案》(Public Law 111-5)资助的。在这个项目中，美国自然历史博物馆(AMNH)的本·奥本海默博士和加州理工学院的林恩·希伦布兰德博士将对附近恒星进行调查，以发现行星伴侣。他们之前开发了一种新的仪器，在直接探测明亮恒星附近的行星方面具有前所未有的灵敏度。该仪器功能齐全，在Palomar 5-m望远镜上的初步观测已经表明，与其他日冕图相比，散斑抑制提高了100倍。有了这个项目，他们将开始一项为期三年的调查，在帕洛玛望远镜上保证120多个晚上的时间。主要有两个目标：第一，他们将利用Palomar最近演示的一种新型散斑抑制技术，观察到比目前系统可以跟踪的更暗、更年轻的恒星；第二，随着Palomar的3000致动器自适应光学系统在2010年实施，他们将开始对北半球最亮(最年轻)的恒星进行调查，以发现系外行星并测量它们的光谱。该项目应该会产生大量的系外行星和其他天体(从棕矮星到圆盘)在附近恒星的轨道上的样本。研究团队将通过AMNH和加州理工大学的SURF计划吸引本科生，以及通过博物馆的高中研究计划吸引来自代表性不足群体的高中生。他们还将把博物馆的AstroBullet项目两周一次的新闻项目和一年两次的纪录片带到帕洛马天文台的游客中心，以便不断向博物馆每年超过10万名参观者展示当代科学。这些AstroBullets通过AMNH和世界各地的45个合作机构接触到1100多万人。Palomar将成为该计划下最新的合作机构。

This award is funded under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (Public Law 111-5).In this project, Dr. Ben Oppenheimer of the American Museum of Natural History (AMNH) and Dr. Lynne Hillenbrand of the California Institute of Technology will conduct a survey of nearby stars to detect planetary companions. They have previously developed a new instrument which has unprecedented sensitivity in the direct detection of planets near bright stars. The instrumentation is fully functional and initial observations on the Palomar 5-m telescope have already demonstrated a factor of 100 improvement in speckle suppression relative to other coronagraphs. With this project, they will begin a three-year survey with over 120 nights of guaranteed time on the Palomar telescope. There are two main goals: first, they will observe fainter and younger stars than current systems can track utilizing a new type of speckle suppression technique recently demonstrated from Palomar; second, with the implementation of Palomar's 3000 actuator adaptive-optics system in 2010, they will begin a survey of the brightest (youngest) stars in the Northern hemisphere to find exoplanets and measure their spectra. The project should yield a significant sample of exoplanets and other objects (from brown dwarfs to disks) in orbit around nearby stars. The research team will involve undergraduates through programs at AMNH and at Caltech's SURF Program, as well as high-school students from under-represented groups, through the museum's high-school research program. They will also bring the Museum's AstroBulletin program of biweekly news items and twice-yearly documentaries to the Palomar Observatory's Visitor Center, so that current science is continuously presented to that museum's more than 100,000 visitors per year. These AstroBulletins reach over 11 million people through AMNH and 45 partner institutions around the world. Palomar would be the newest partner institution under this program.