Today in Astronomy 111: Planet Formation and Exoplanets
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Download the Search for New Planets
“VITAL ARTICLES ON SCIENCE/CREATION” September 1999 Impact #315 THE SEARCH FOR NEW PLANETS by Don DeYoung, Ph.D.* The nine solar system planets, from Mercury to Pluto, have been much-studied targets of the space age. In general, a planet is any massive object which orbits a star, in our case, the Sun. Some have questioned the status of Pluto, mainly because of its small size, but it remains a full-fledged planet. There is little evidence for additional solar planets beyond Pluto. Instead, attention has turned to extrasolar planets which may circle other stars. Intense competition has arisen among astronomers to detect such objects. Success insures media attention, journal publication, and continued research funding. The Interest in Planets Just one word explains the intense interest in new planets—life. Many scientists are convinced that we are not alone in space. Since life evolved on Earth, it must likewise have happened elsewhere, either on planets or their moons. The naïve assumption is that life will arise if we “just add water”: Earth-like planet + water → spontaneous life This equation is falsified by over a century of biological research showing the deep complexity of life. Scarcely is there a fact more certain than that matter does not spring into life on its own. Drake Equation Astronomer Frank Drake pioneered the Search for ExtraTerrestrial Intelligence project, or SETI, in the 1960s. He also attempted to calculate the total number of planets with life. The Drake Equation in simplified form is: Total livable Probability of Planets with planets x evolution = evolved life *Don DeYoung, Ph.D., is an Adjunct Professor of Physics at ICR. -
Naming the Extrasolar Planets
Naming the extrasolar planets W. Lyra Max Planck Institute for Astronomy, K¨onigstuhl 17, 69177, Heidelberg, Germany [email protected] Abstract and OGLE-TR-182 b, which does not help educators convey the message that these planets are quite similar to Jupiter. Extrasolar planets are not named and are referred to only In stark contrast, the sentence“planet Apollo is a gas giant by their assigned scientific designation. The reason given like Jupiter” is heavily - yet invisibly - coated with Coper- by the IAU to not name the planets is that it is consid- nicanism. ered impractical as planets are expected to be common. I One reason given by the IAU for not considering naming advance some reasons as to why this logic is flawed, and sug- the extrasolar planets is that it is a task deemed impractical. gest names for the 403 extrasolar planet candidates known One source is quoted as having said “if planets are found to as of Oct 2009. The names follow a scheme of association occur very frequently in the Universe, a system of individual with the constellation that the host star pertains to, and names for planets might well rapidly be found equally im- therefore are mostly drawn from Roman-Greek mythology. practicable as it is for stars, as planet discoveries progress.” Other mythologies may also be used given that a suitable 1. This leads to a second argument. It is indeed impractical association is established. to name all stars. But some stars are named nonetheless. In fact, all other classes of astronomical bodies are named. -
Sunqm-1S2: Comparing to Other Star-Planet Systems, Our Solar System Has a Nearly Perfect {N,N} QM Structure 1
Yi Cao, SunQM-1s2: Comparing to other star-planet systems, our Solar system has a nearly perfect {N,n} QM structure 1 SunQM-1s2: Comparing to other star-planet systems, our Solar system has a nearly perfect {N,n//6} QM structure Yi Cao Ph.D. of biophysics, a citizen scientist of QM. E-mail: [email protected] © All rights reserved The major part of this work started from 2016. Abstract The Solar QM {N,n//6} structure has been successful not only for modeling the Solar system from Sun core to Oort cloud, but also in matching the size of white dwarf, neutron star and even black hole. In this paper, I have used this model to further scan down (and up) in our world. It is interesting to find that on the small end, the r(s) of hydrogen atom, proton and quark match {-12,1}, {-15,1} and {-17,1} respectively. On the large end, our Milky way galaxy, the Virgo super cluster have their r(s) match {8,1}, and {10,1} respectively. In a second estimation, some elementary particles like electron, up quark, down quark, … may have their {N,n} QM structures match {-17,1}, {-17,2}, {-17,3} … respectively. In a third estimation, the r(s) of super-massive black hole of Andromeda galaxy and Milky way galaxy match {2,1} and {1,1} respectively. However, so far the Solar QM {N,n} structure has not been re-produced in other exoplanetary systems (like TRAPPIST-1, HD 10180, Kepler-90, Kelper-11, 55-Cacri). -
Arxiv:0809.1275V2
How eccentric orbital solutions can hide planetary systems in 2:1 resonant orbits Guillem Anglada-Escud´e1, Mercedes L´opez-Morales1,2, John E. Chambers1 [email protected], [email protected], [email protected] ABSTRACT The Doppler technique measures the reflex radial motion of a star induced by the presence of companions and is the most successful method to detect ex- oplanets. If several planets are present, their signals will appear combined in the radial motion of the star, leading to potential misinterpretations of the data. Specifically, two planets in 2:1 resonant orbits can mimic the signal of a sin- gle planet in an eccentric orbit. We quantify the implications of this statistical degeneracy for a representative sample of the reported single exoplanets with available datasets, finding that 1) around 35% percent of the published eccentric one-planet solutions are statistically indistinguishible from planetary systems in 2:1 orbital resonance, 2) another 40% cannot be statistically distinguished from a circular orbital solution and 3) planets with masses comparable to Earth could be hidden in known orbital solutions of eccentric super-Earths and Neptune mass planets. Subject headings: Exoplanets – Orbital dynamics – Planet detection – Doppler method arXiv:0809.1275v2 [astro-ph] 25 Nov 2009 Introduction Most of the +300 exoplanets found to date have been discovered using the Doppler tech- nique, which measures the reflex motion of the host star induced by the planets (Mayor & Queloz 1995; Marcy & Butler 1996). The diverse characteristics of these exoplanets are somewhat surprising. Many of them are similar in mass to Jupiter, but orbit much closer to their 1Carnegie Institution of Washington, Department of Terrestrial Magnetism, 5241 Broad Branch Rd. -
A Super-Earth Transiting a Naked-Eye Star
A Super-Earth Transiting a Naked-Eye Star The MIT Faculty has made this article openly available. Please share how this access benefits you. Your story matters. Citation Winn, Joshua N. et al. “A SUPER-EARTH TRANSITING A NAKED-EYE STAR.” The Astrophysical Journal 737.1 (2011): L18. As Published http://dx.doi.org/10.1088/2041-8205/737/1/l18 Publisher IOP Publishing Version Author's final manuscript Citable link http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/71127 Terms of Use Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 3.0 Detailed Terms http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0/ ACCEPTED VERSION,JULY 6, 2011 Preprint typeset using LATEX style emulateapj v. 11/10/09 A SUPER-EARTH TRANSITING A NAKED-EYE STAR⋆ JOSHUA N. WINN1, JAYMIE M. MATTHEWS2,REBEKAH I. DAWSON3 ,DANIEL FABRYCKY4,5 , MATTHEW J. HOLMAN3, THOMAS KALLINGER2,6,RAINER KUSCHNIG6,DIMITAR SASSELOV3,DIANA DRAGOMIR5,DAVID B. GUENTHER7, ANTHONY F. J. MOFFAT8 , JASON F. ROWE9 ,SLAVEK RUCINSKI10,WERNER W. WEISS6 ApJ Letters, in press ABSTRACT We have detected transits of the innermost planet “e” orbiting55Cnc(V =6.0), based on two weeks of nearly continuous photometric monitoring with the MOST space telescope. The transits occur with the period (0.74 d) and phase that had been predicted by Dawson & Fabrycky, and with the expected duration and depth for the +0.051 crossing of a Sun-like star by a hot super-Earth. Assuming the star’s mass and radius to be 0.963−0.029 M⊙ and 0.943 ± 0.010 R⊙, the planet’s mass, radius, and mean density are 8.63 ± 0.35 M⊕,2.00 ± 0.14 R⊕, and +1.5 −3 5.9−1.1 g cm . -
Exoplanet.Eu Catalog Page 1 # Name Mass Star Name
exoplanet.eu_catalog # name mass star_name star_distance star_mass OGLE-2016-BLG-1469L b 13.6 OGLE-2016-BLG-1469L 4500.0 0.048 11 Com b 19.4 11 Com 110.6 2.7 11 Oph b 21 11 Oph 145.0 0.0162 11 UMi b 10.5 11 UMi 119.5 1.8 14 And b 5.33 14 And 76.4 2.2 14 Her b 4.64 14 Her 18.1 0.9 16 Cyg B b 1.68 16 Cyg B 21.4 1.01 18 Del b 10.3 18 Del 73.1 2.3 1RXS 1609 b 14 1RXS1609 145.0 0.73 1SWASP J1407 b 20 1SWASP J1407 133.0 0.9 24 Sex b 1.99 24 Sex 74.8 1.54 24 Sex c 0.86 24 Sex 74.8 1.54 2M 0103-55 (AB) b 13 2M 0103-55 (AB) 47.2 0.4 2M 0122-24 b 20 2M 0122-24 36.0 0.4 2M 0219-39 b 13.9 2M 0219-39 39.4 0.11 2M 0441+23 b 7.5 2M 0441+23 140.0 0.02 2M 0746+20 b 30 2M 0746+20 12.2 0.12 2M 1207-39 24 2M 1207-39 52.4 0.025 2M 1207-39 b 4 2M 1207-39 52.4 0.025 2M 1938+46 b 1.9 2M 1938+46 0.6 2M 2140+16 b 20 2M 2140+16 25.0 0.08 2M 2206-20 b 30 2M 2206-20 26.7 0.13 2M 2236+4751 b 12.5 2M 2236+4751 63.0 0.6 2M J2126-81 b 13.3 TYC 9486-927-1 24.8 0.4 2MASS J11193254 AB 3.7 2MASS J11193254 AB 2MASS J1450-7841 A 40 2MASS J1450-7841 A 75.0 0.04 2MASS J1450-7841 B 40 2MASS J1450-7841 B 75.0 0.04 2MASS J2250+2325 b 30 2MASS J2250+2325 41.5 30 Ari B b 9.88 30 Ari B 39.4 1.22 38 Vir b 4.51 38 Vir 1.18 4 Uma b 7.1 4 Uma 78.5 1.234 42 Dra b 3.88 42 Dra 97.3 0.98 47 Uma b 2.53 47 Uma 14.0 1.03 47 Uma c 0.54 47 Uma 14.0 1.03 47 Uma d 1.64 47 Uma 14.0 1.03 51 Eri b 9.1 51 Eri 29.4 1.75 51 Peg b 0.47 51 Peg 14.7 1.11 55 Cnc b 0.84 55 Cnc 12.3 0.905 55 Cnc c 0.1784 55 Cnc 12.3 0.905 55 Cnc d 3.86 55 Cnc 12.3 0.905 55 Cnc e 0.02547 55 Cnc 12.3 0.905 55 Cnc f 0.1479 55 -
The Spitzer Search for the Transits of HARPS Low-Mass Planets II
A&A 601, A117 (2017) Astronomy DOI: 10.1051/0004-6361/201629270 & c ESO 2017 Astrophysics The Spitzer search for the transits of HARPS low-mass planets II. Null results for 19 planets? M. Gillon1, B.-O. Demory2; 3, C. Lovis4, D. Deming5, D. Ehrenreich4, G. Lo Curto6, M. Mayor4, F. Pepe4, D. Queloz3; 4, S. Seager7, D. Ségransan4, and S. Udry4 1 Space sciences, Technologies and Astrophysics Research (STAR) Institute, Université de Liège, Allée du 6 Août 17, Bat. B5C, 4000 Liège, Belgium e-mail: [email protected] 2 University of Bern, Center for Space and Habitability, Sidlerstrasse 5, 3012 Bern, Switzerland 3 Cavendish Laboratory, J. J. Thomson Avenue, Cambridge CB3 0HE, UK 4 Observatoire de Genève, Université de Genève, 51 Chemin des Maillettes, 1290 Sauverny, Switzerland 5 Department of Astronomy, University of Maryland, College Park, MD 20742-2421, USA 6 European Southern Observatory, Karl-Schwarzschild-Str. 2, 85478 Garching bei München, Germany 7 Department of Earth, Atmospheric and Planetary Sciences, Department of Physics, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 77 Massachusetts Ave., Cambridge, MA 02139, USA Received 8 July 2016 / Accepted 15 December 2016 ABSTRACT Short-period super-Earths and Neptunes are now known to be very frequent around solar-type stars. Improving our understanding of these mysterious planets requires the detection of a significant sample of objects suitable for detailed characterization. Searching for the transits of the low-mass planets detected by Doppler surveys is a straightforward way to achieve this goal. Indeed, Doppler surveys target the most nearby main-sequence stars, they regularly detect close-in low-mass planets with significant transit probability, and their radial velocity data constrain strongly the ephemeris of possible transits. -
New Low-Mass Stellar Companions of the Exoplanet Host Stars HD 125612 and HD 212301 M
A&A 494, 373–378 (2009) Astronomy DOI: 10.1051/0004-6361:200810639 & c ESO 2009 Astrophysics The multiplicity of exoplanet host stars New low-mass stellar companions of the exoplanet host stars HD 125612 and HD 212301 M. Mugrauer and R. Neuhäuser Astrophysikalisches Institut und Universitäts-Sternwarte Jena, Schillergäßchen 2-3, 07745 Jena, Germany e-mail: [email protected] Received 18 July 2008 / Accepted 31 October 2008 ABSTRACT Aims. We present new results from our ongoing multiplicity study of exoplanet host stars, carried out with SofI/NTT. We provide the most recent list of confirmed binary and triple star systems that harbor exoplanets. Methods. We use direct imaging to identify wide stellar and substellar companions as co-moving objects to the observed exoplanet host stars, whose masses and spectral types are determined with follow-up photometry and spectroscopy. Results. We found two new co-moving companions of the exoplanet host stars HD 125612 and HD 212301. HD 125612 B is a wide M 4 dwarf (0.18 M) companion of the exoplanet host star HD 125612, located about 1.5 arcmin (∼4750 AU of projected separation) south-east of its primary. In contrast, HD 212301 B is a close M 3 dwarf (0.35 M), which is found about 4.4 arcsec (∼230 AU of projected separation) north-west of its primary. Conclusions. The binaries HD 125612 AB and HD 212301 AB are new members in the continuously growing list of exoplanet host star systems of which 43 are presently known. Hence, the multiplicity rate of exoplanet host stars is about 17%. -
Exploring the Realm of Scaled Solar System Analogues with HARPS?,?? D
A&A 615, A175 (2018) Astronomy https://doi.org/10.1051/0004-6361/201832711 & c ESO 2018 Astrophysics Exploring the realm of scaled solar system analogues with HARPS?;?? D. Barbato1,2, A. Sozzetti2, S. Desidera3, M. Damasso2, A. S. Bonomo2, P. Giacobbe2, L. S. Colombo4, C. Lazzoni4,3 , R. Claudi3, R. Gratton3, G. LoCurto5, F. Marzari4, and C. Mordasini6 1 Dipartimento di Fisica, Università degli Studi di Torino, via Pietro Giuria 1, 10125, Torino, Italy e-mail: [email protected] 2 INAF – Osservatorio Astrofisico di Torino, Via Osservatorio 20, 10025, Pino Torinese, Italy 3 INAF – Osservatorio Astronomico di Padova, Vicolo dell’Osservatorio 5, 35122, Padova, Italy 4 Dipartimento di Fisica e Astronomia “G. Galilei”, Università di Padova, Vicolo dell’Osservatorio 3, 35122, Padova, Italy 5 European Southern Observatory, Alonso de Córdova 3107, Vitacura, Santiago, Chile 6 Physikalisches Institut, University of Bern, Sidlerstrasse 5, 3012, Bern, Switzerland Received 8 February 2018 / Accepted 21 April 2018 ABSTRACT Context. The assessment of the frequency of planetary systems reproducing the solar system’s architecture is still an open problem in exoplanetary science. Detailed study of multiplicity and architecture is generally hampered by limitations in quality, temporal extension and observing strategy, causing difficulties in detecting low-mass inner planets in the presence of outer giant planets. Aims. We present the results of high-cadence and high-precision HARPS observations on 20 solar-type stars known to host a single long-period giant planet in order to search for additional inner companions and estimate the occurence rate fp of scaled solar system analogues – in other words, systems featuring lower-mass inner planets in the presence of long-period giant planets. -
IAU Division C Working Group on Star Names 2019 Annual Report
IAU Division C Working Group on Star Names 2019 Annual Report Eric Mamajek (chair, USA) WG Members: Juan Antonio Belmote Avilés (Spain), Sze-leung Cheung (Thailand), Beatriz García (Argentina), Steven Gullberg (USA), Duane Hamacher (Australia), Susanne M. Hoffmann (Germany), Alejandro López (Argentina), Javier Mejuto (Honduras), Thierry Montmerle (France), Jay Pasachoff (USA), Ian Ridpath (UK), Clive Ruggles (UK), B.S. Shylaja (India), Robert van Gent (Netherlands), Hitoshi Yamaoka (Japan) WG Associates: Danielle Adams (USA), Yunli Shi (China), Doris Vickers (Austria) WGSN Website: https://www.iau.org/science/scientific_bodies/working_groups/280/ WGSN Email: [email protected] The Working Group on Star Names (WGSN) consists of an international group of astronomers with expertise in stellar astronomy, astronomical history, and cultural astronomy who research and catalog proper names for stars for use by the international astronomical community, and also to aid the recognition and preservation of intangible astronomical heritage. The Terms of Reference and membership for WG Star Names (WGSN) are provided at the IAU website: https://www.iau.org/science/scientific_bodies/working_groups/280/. WGSN was re-proposed to Division C and was approved in April 2019 as a functional WG whose scope extends beyond the normal 3-year cycle of IAU working groups. The WGSN was specifically called out on p. 22 of IAU Strategic Plan 2020-2030: “The IAU serves as the internationally recognised authority for assigning designations to celestial bodies and their surface features. To do so, the IAU has a number of Working Groups on various topics, most notably on the nomenclature of small bodies in the Solar System and planetary systems under Division F and on Star Names under Division C.” WGSN continues its long term activity of researching cultural astronomy literature for star names, and researching etymologies with the goal of adding this information to the WGSN’s online materials. -
Mètodes De Detecció I Anàlisi D'exoplanetes
MÈTODES DE DETECCIÓ I ANÀLISI D’EXOPLANETES Rubén Soussé Villa 2n de Batxillerat Tutora: Dolors Romero IES XXV Olimpíada 13/1/2011 Mètodes de detecció i anàlisi d’exoplanetes . Índex - Introducció ............................................................................................. 5 [ Marc Teòric ] 1. L’Univers ............................................................................................... 6 1.1 Les estrelles .................................................................................. 6 1.1.1 Vida de les estrelles .............................................................. 7 1.1.2 Classes espectrals .................................................................9 1.1.3 Magnitud ........................................................................... 9 1.2 Sistemes planetaris: El Sistema Solar .............................................. 10 1.2.1 Formació ......................................................................... 11 1.2.2 Planetes .......................................................................... 13 2. Planetes extrasolars ............................................................................ 19 2.1 Denominació .............................................................................. 19 2.2 Història dels exoplanetes .............................................................. 20 2.3 Mètodes per detectar-los i saber-ne les característiques ..................... 26 2.3.1 Oscil·lació Doppler ........................................................... 27 2.3.2 Trànsits -
An Explanation of Stability of Extrasolar Systems Based on the Universal Stellar Law
Chaotic Modeling and Simulation (CMSIM) 4: 513-529, 2017 An explanation of stability of extrasolar systems based on the universal stellar law Alexander M. Krot1 1 Laboratory of Self-Organization Systems Modeling, United Institute of Informatics Problems of National Academy of Sciences of Belarus, Minsk, Belarus (E-mail: [email protected]) Abstract: This work investigates the stability of exoplanetary systems based on the statistical theory of gravitating spheroidal bodies. The statistical theory for a cosmogonical body forming (so-called spheroidal body) has been proposed in our previous works. Starting the conception for forming a spheroidal body inside a gas-dust protoplanetary nebula, this theory solves the problem of gravitational condensation of a gas-dust protoplanetary cloud with a view to planetary formation in its own gravitational field. This work develops the equation of state of an ideal stellar substance based on conception of the universal stellar law (USL) connecting temperature, size and mass of a star. This work also shows that knowledge of some orbital characteristics for multi-planet extrasolar systems refines own parameters of stars based on the combined Kepler 3rd law with universal stellar law (3KL–USL). The proposed 3KL–USL predicts statistical oscillations of circular motion of planets around stars. Thus, we conclude about a possibility of presence of statistical oscillations of orbital motion, i.e. the oscillations of the major semi-axis and the orbital angular velocity of rotation of planets and bodies around stars. Indeed, this conclusion is completely confirmed by existing the radial and the axial orbital oscillations of bodies for the first time described by Alfvén and Arrhenius.