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（公法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（Ben Oppenheimer）博士和加州理工学院的琳恩·希伦布兰德（Lynne Hillenbrand）博士将对附近的恒星进行调查，以发现行星伴星。他们之前开发了一种新仪器，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，在帕洛玛5米望远镜上的初步观测已经证明，与其他日冕仪相比，斑点抑制能力提高了100倍。有了这个项目，他们将开始为期三年的调查，在帕洛马望远镜上保证有超过120个晚上的时间。有两个主要目标：首先，他们将观察到比当前系统所能追踪的更暗、更年轻的恒星，利用最近在帕洛玛展示的一种新型斑点抑制技术；第二，随着2010年帕洛玛3000执行器自适应光学系统的实施，他们将开始对北半球最亮（最年轻）的恒星进行调查，以寻找系外行星并测量它们的光谱。该项目将产生一个重要的系外行星和其他物体（从褐矮星到圆盘）的样本，这些物体围绕着附近的恒星运行。研究团队将包括来自AMNH和加州理工学院SURF项目的本科生，以及来自代表性不足群体的高中生，通过博物馆的高中研究项目。他们还将为帕洛马天文台的游客中心带来博物馆的《天文公报》节目，其中包括两周一次的新闻和一年两次的纪录片，这样，每年有10万多名博物馆的游客可以不断地看到最新的科学。通过AMNH和世界各地的45个合作机构，astrobulletin的受众超过1100万人。帕洛玛将是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.