Carnegie Institution for Science | 2017 Feb 13
[img3="Artist’s conception of the probable planet orbiting a star called GJ 411. Courtesy: Ricardo Ramirez"]https://carnegiescience.edu/sites/carne ... IRES_1.jpg[/img3][hr][/hr]An international team of astronomers released the largest-ever compilation of exoplanet-detecting observations made using a technique called the radial velocity method. They demonstrated how these observations can be used to hunt for planets by detecting more than 100 potential exoplanets, including one orbiting the fourth-closest star to our own Solar System, which is about 8.1 light years away from Earth. ...
The radial velocity method is one of the most successful techniques for finding and confirming planets. It takes advantage of the fact that in addition to a planet being influenced by the gravity of the star it orbits, the planet’s gravity also affects the star. Astronomers are able to use sophisticated tools to detect the tiny wobble the planet induces as its gravity tugs on the star.
The virtual mountain of data released to the public in this paper was gathered as part of a two-decade radial velocity planet-hunting program that uses a spectrometer called HIRES, mounted on the 10-meter Keck-I telescope of the W.M. Keck Observatory atop Mauna Kea in Hawaii. The compilation includes almost 61,000 individual measurements made of more than 1,600 stars. By making the data public, the team is offering unprecedented access to one of the best exoplanet searches in the world. ...
Astronomy team releases planet-search data, finds more than 100 candidates
University of California, Santa Cruz | 2017 Feb 13
Scientists make huge dataset of nearby stars available to public
Massachusetts Institute of Technology | 2017 Feb 13
The LCES HIRES/Keck Precision Radial Velocity Exoplanet Survey - R. Paul Butler et al
- arXiv.org > astro-ph > arXiv:1702.03571 > 12 Feb 2017