Exoplanets Press Kit

Total Page:16

File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb

Exoplanets Press Kit Exoplanets Press Kit Exoplanets 1 Contents Preface 3 Early discoveries 5 Techniques for detection 7 Direct detection 7 Imaging 7 Indirect detection 7 Radial velocity tracking 8 Astrometry 10 Pulsar timing 10 Transits 10 Gravitational microlensing 11 What can we learn from exoplanets? 13 What are exoplanets like? 14 Life outside the Solar System 16 Exoplanet research at eso 17 ESo’s current exoplanet instruments 18 Exoplanet research in the future at ESO 19 2 Exoplanets Cover: Artist’s impres- sion of the exoplanets HD 189733b | ESA, NASA, G. Tinetti (Uni- versity College London, UK & ESA) and M. Korn- messer (ESo) Left: Artist’s impression of an exoplanets orbiting its star | ESA, NASA, M. Kornmesser (ESo) and STScI Preface Since planets were first discovered out- This guide provides an overview of the side the Solar System in 1992 (orbiting a history of exoplanets and of the current pulsar) and in 1995 (orbiting a “normal” state of knowledge in this captivating star), the study of planets orbiting other field. It reveals the various methods that stars, known as exoplanets, or extrasolar astronomers use to find new exoplanets planets, has become one of the most and the information that can be inferred. dynamic research fields in astronomy. The last section summarises the impres- our knowledge of exoplanets has grown sive findings of exoplanet research at immensely, from our understanding of ESo and the current and near-future their formation and evolution to the devel- technologies available in the quest for opment of different methods to detect new worlds. them. Exoplanets 3 4 Exoplanets Left: ESo 3.6-m tele- scope, La Silla observa- tory | ESo Early discoveries “There are an infinite number of In 1995, the Geneva-based astronomers worlds, some like this world, others Michel Mayor and Didier Queloz de- unlike it.” tected the first exoplanet around a “nor- mal” (main sequence) star, 51 Pegasi. Epicurus — letter to Herodotus The planet, named 51 Pegasi b, has (~ 300 BC) around half the mass of Jupiter and whiz- zes around its parent star in just over four Earth days, lying almost eight times A planet is an object orbiting a star that is closer to it than Mercury is to the Sun. massive enough both to have achieved an almost spherical shape and to have Since 1995, this area of astronomy has cleared the rotating disc of dense gas, become a very dynamic research field known as the protoplanetary disc, that and astronomers have found over 450 surrounds a newly formed star. Planets exoplanets (as of May 2010), using a host differ in this from dwarf planets (such as of techniques. Pluto), which do not have enough mass to clear the protoplanetary disc area. The first detection of an exoplanet occurred in 1992 when the astrophysi- cists Aleksander Wolszczan and Dale Frail discovered three exoplanets. They were found in an unexpected environ- ment, orbiting the pulsar PSR1257+12. Exoplanets 5 Artist’s impression of the planetary system around HD 69830 | ESo 6 Exoplanets Techniques for detection Searching for exoplanets is like looking Direct detection The adaptive optics instrument, NACo, for the proverbial needle in a haystack. on ESo’s Very Large Telescope (VLT) has Planets emit little or no light of their own, Imaging obtained the first image of an exoplanet. while their host stars shine brightly. See- The European Extremely Large Telescope ing the light from a distant planet is like The hardest way to detect an exoplanet is (E-ELT) planned for 2018, will search for spotting a dim candle in front of a raging to try to image it directly. This is because new planets using direct imaging, thanks forest fire. of the extreme contrast between the light to its very sharp vision. emitted by the parent star and by the Nowadays six investigative tools are used companion planet. To expose the planet, to spot hidden exoplanets. the starlight must be dimmed or masked Indirect detection in some way so as to enable observers to Direct detection see into the shadow. one method is to The majority of all exoplanets discovered – Imaging use infrared radiation, rather than visible so far have been detected using indirect light. The visible light output of a Jupiter- methods — identifying their existence by Indirect detection like planet is one billionth of that of its their effect on their host star. – Radial velocity tracking host star, while in the infrared the con- – Astrometry trast is just a factor of a few thousandths. The presence of a planet affects its host – Pulsar timing This is particularly true when the planet is star in several ways. The weak gravity of – Transits still very young and thus contracting, the planet pulls the star in a small circular – Gravitational microlensing thereby emitting heat. Another method is orbit, introducing a minute wobble that to physically block out the starlight, using can be detected using radial velocity a coronograph that masks the bright tracking or astrometry (see pages 8 –10). central core of the star, leaving only the Alternatively, as the planet moves be- corona, the outer plasma region of the tween the star and the observer, the star’s atmosphere, visible and so allowing measured luminosity of the star will any nearby planets to shine through. change. These tiny variations are impor- tant for astronomers, as it makes the Direct imaging is the only way to assess indirect observation of exoplanets possi- some important physical parameters, ble. such as the amount of water on the sur- face and the properties of any possible biosphere. Possibly the first image of an exoplanet (red spot), obtained with NACo at the VLT. The planet orbits a brown dwarf (blue spot in mid- Beta Pictoris as seen in dle) | ESo infrared light | ESo debris disc Beta Pictoris location of the star 0.5� 2003 2009 Size of Saturn’s orbit Planet Beta Pictoris b around the Sun Exoplanets 7 The planetary system around Gliese 581 (artist’s impression) | ESo Radial velocity tracking for example in the change of pitch of an The radial velocity method has proven to ambulance siren as it drives past on the be the most successful in finding new An astronomer can determine much street. planets. At present, the most successful about a distant star by recording its low-mass exoplanets hunter is HARPS spectrum. As the star moves in the small The periodic changes in the star’s radial (High Accuracy Radial Velocity for Plane- orbit resulting from the pull of the exo- velocity depend on the planet’s mass and tary Searcher), which is mounted on planet, it will move towards the Earth and the inclination of its orbit to our line of ESo’s 3.6-metre telescope at La Silla, then away as it completes an orbit. The sight. These tiny changes or “wobbles” Chile. velocity of the star along the line of sight can be measured by a distant observer. of an observer on Earth is its radial veloc- Astronomers use high precision spec- ity. Changes in the radial velocity of the trographs to study Doppler-shifted spec- star cause the lines in the star’s spectrum tra, looking for small regular variations in to shift towards redder wavelengths the radial velocity of a star. As the inclina- when the star is moving away from us tion of the planetary orbit is unknown, the and towards bluer wavelengths when the measurement of this regular variation planet is approaching us (see image). gives a minimum value for the mass of This is the Doppler effect, and it is notice- the planet. able with sound waves in everyday life, 8 Exoplanets The radial velocity method | ESo Exoplanets 9 1.01 1 0.99 0.98 x OGLE-TR-113 Flu 0.97 ve 1.01 Relati 1 0.99 0.98 y 0.97 OGLE-TR-132 nsit te In –0.1 –0.05 0 0.05 0.1 Time Phase 1. The measured drop in 2. Brightness variations of brightness of the star two stars with transiting when the planet passes exoplanets | ESo in front of it | ESo 3 10 Aug 11 Aug 2005 2005 Observer Source star 2.5 2 Planet Magnification 1.5 1 Observer Lens Star Source star 3. Light curve of oGLE- 4. Gravitational lensing 2005-BLG-390 | ESo caused by the pres- ence of a star and an exoplanet | ESo Astrometry Pulsar timing Transits The astrometry method is similar to radial The presence of a planet orbiting a star When a planet passes between the Earth velocity tracking and is used to detect affects the timing of the regular signals and its host star, this is known as a tran- exoplanets by measuring the small regu- emitted by the star itself. This phenome- sit. The planet blocks some of the star- lar perturbation in the position of a star non can be used to detect planets light during the transit and creates a peri- due to its unseen companion. The star around a pulsar. Pulsars emit radio waves odic dip in the brightness of the star. This moves in a tiny circular orbit on the sky regularly as they rotate, creating a peri- effect can be measured using photome- with a radius that depends on the mass odically pulsed beam, like a lighthouse. If try, which measures the amount of light of the planet and its distance from the an orbiting planet perturbs the motion coming from celestial objects. star, but not on the inclination. No planets of the star, then the timing of the beam is have been discovered so far using this also affected, and this is how the first We can learn much about the composi- method.
Recommended publications
  • Astronomie in Theorie Und Praxis 8. Auflage in Zwei Bänden Erik Wischnewski
    Astronomie in Theorie und Praxis 8. Auflage in zwei Bänden Erik Wischnewski Inhaltsverzeichnis 1 Beobachtungen mit bloßem Auge 37 Motivation 37 Hilfsmittel 38 Drehbare Sternkarte Bücher und Atlanten Kataloge Planetariumssoftware Elektronischer Almanach Sternkarten 39 2 Atmosphäre der Erde 49 Aufbau 49 Atmosphärische Fenster 51 Warum der Himmel blau ist? 52 Extinktion 52 Extinktionsgleichung Photometrie Refraktion 55 Szintillationsrauschen 56 Angaben zur Beobachtung 57 Durchsicht Himmelshelligkeit Luftunruhe Beispiel einer Notiz Taupunkt 59 Solar-terrestrische Beziehungen 60 Klassifizierung der Flares Korrelation zur Fleckenrelativzahl Luftleuchten 62 Polarlichter 63 Nachtleuchtende Wolken 64 Haloerscheinungen 67 Formen Häufigkeit Beobachtung Photographie Grüner Strahl 69 Zodiakallicht 71 Dämmerung 72 Definition Purpurlicht Gegendämmerung Venusgürtel Erdschattenbogen 3 Optische Teleskope 75 Fernrohrtypen 76 Refraktoren Reflektoren Fokus Optische Fehler 82 Farbfehler Kugelgestaltsfehler Bildfeldwölbung Koma Astigmatismus Verzeichnung Bildverzerrungen Helligkeitsinhomogenität Objektive 86 Linsenobjektive Spiegelobjektive Vergütung Optische Qualitätsprüfung RC-Wert RGB-Chromasietest Okulare 97 Zusatzoptiken 100 Barlow-Linse Shapley-Linse Flattener Spezialokulare Spektroskopie Herschel-Prisma Fabry-Pérot-Interferometer Vergrößerung 103 Welche Vergrößerung ist die Beste? Blickfeld 105 Lichtstärke 106 Kontrast Dämmerungszahl Auflösungsvermögen 108 Strehl-Zahl Luftunruhe (Seeing) 112 Tubusseeing Kuppelseeing Gebäudeseeing Montierungen 113 Nachführfehler
    [Show full text]
  • The Discovery of Exoplanets
    L'Univers, S´eminairePoincar´eXX (2015) 113 { 137 S´eminairePoincar´e New Worlds Ahead: The Discovery of Exoplanets Arnaud Cassan Universit´ePierre et Marie Curie Institut d'Astrophysique de Paris 98bis boulevard Arago 75014 Paris, France Abstract. Exoplanets are planets orbiting stars other than the Sun. In 1995, the discovery of the first exoplanet orbiting a solar-type star paved the way to an exoplanet detection rush, which revealed an astonishing diversity of possible worlds. These detections led us to completely renew planet formation and evolu- tion theories. Several detection techniques have revealed a wealth of surprising properties characterizing exoplanets that are not found in our own planetary system. After two decades of exoplanet search, these new worlds are found to be ubiquitous throughout the Milky Way. A positive sign that life has developed elsewhere than on Earth? 1 The Solar system paradigm: the end of certainties Looking at the Solar system, striking facts appear clearly: all seven planets orbit in the same plane (the ecliptic), all have almost circular orbits, the Sun rotation is perpendicular to this plane, and the direction of the Sun rotation is the same as the planets revolution around the Sun. These observations gave birth to the Solar nebula theory, which was proposed by Kant and Laplace more that two hundred years ago, but, although correct, it has been for decades the subject of many debates. In this theory, the Solar system was formed by the collapse of an approximately spheric giant interstellar cloud of gas and dust, which eventually flattened in the plane perpendicular to its initial rotation axis.
    [Show full text]
  • Where Are the Distant Worlds? Star Maps
    W here Are the Distant Worlds? Star Maps Abo ut the Activity Whe re are the distant worlds in the night sky? Use a star map to find constellations and to identify stars with extrasolar planets. (Northern Hemisphere only, naked eye) Topics Covered • How to find Constellations • Where we have found planets around other stars Participants Adults, teens, families with children 8 years and up If a school/youth group, 10 years and older 1 to 4 participants per map Materials Needed Location and Timing • Current month's Star Map for the Use this activity at a star party on a public (included) dark, clear night. Timing depends only • At least one set Planetary on how long you want to observe. Postcards with Key (included) • A small (red) flashlight • (Optional) Print list of Visible Stars with Planets (included) Included in This Packet Page Detailed Activity Description 2 Helpful Hints 4 Background Information 5 Planetary Postcards 7 Key Planetary Postcards 9 Star Maps 20 Visible Stars With Planets 33 © 2008 Astronomical Society of the Pacific www.astrosociety.org Copies for educational purposes are permitted. Additional astronomy activities can be found here: http://nightsky.jpl.nasa.gov Detailed Activity Description Leader’s Role Participants’ Roles (Anticipated) Introduction: To Ask: Who has heard that scientists have found planets around stars other than our own Sun? How many of these stars might you think have been found? Anyone ever see a star that has planets around it? (our own Sun, some may know of other stars) We can’t see the planets around other stars, but we can see the star.
    [Show full text]
  • Extrasolar Planets
    Extrasolar Planets to appear in Encyclopedia of Time, Sage Publishing, in preparation, H.J. Birx (Ed.) The term extrasolar planets or exoplanets stands for planets outside our Solar System, i.e. not orbiting the Sun, but other stars. Planets in our Solar System are defined as objects with enough mass to be spherical and round by their own gravity and to be alone on their orbit around the Sun, i.e. to be the dominant object in a particular orbit, and not to be a moon or asteroid (see the entry Planet in this encyclopedia for the official definition, the historical debate, and a discussion of the planets of our Solar System). Most exoplanets are discovered by observing the stellar motion around the common center of mass of the star+planet system, i.e. by observing somehow the motion of the objects in orbit around each other, i.e. by measuring precisely the periodic variation of certain values, e.g. radial velocity or brightness, with time, e.g. the first extrasolar planets were found with the timing technique around a pulsating neutron star. The recent definition of Planets of our Solar System by the International Astronomical Union deals mainly with the question of the minimum mass for an object to qualify as planet and excludes Pluto. This matter was raised by the fact that more and more objects similar to Pluto were discovered by larger and larger telescopes. The questions of maximum mass and formation of planets were left out in this new definition, possibly partly because there is not yet a consensus in the international community.
    [Show full text]
  • History of Astrometry
    5 Gaia web site: http://sci.esa.int/Gaia site: web Gaia 6 June 2009 June are emerging about the nature of our Galaxy. Galaxy. our of nature the about emerging are More detailed information can be found on the the on found be can information detailed More technologies developed by creative engineers. creative by developed technologies scientists all over the world, and important conclusions conclusions important and world, the over all scientists of the Universe combined with the most cutting-edge cutting-edge most the with combined Universe the of The results from Hipparcos are being analysed by by analysed being are Hipparcos from results The expression of a widespread curiosity about the nature nature the about curiosity widespread a of expression 118218 stars to a precision of around 1 milliarcsecond. milliarcsecond. 1 around of precision a to stars 118218 trying to answer for many centuries. It is the the is It centuries. many for answer to trying created with the positions, distances and motions of of motions and distances positions, the with created will bring light to questions that astronomers have been been have astronomers that questions to light bring will accuracies obtained from the ground. A catalogue was was catalogue A ground. the from obtained accuracies Gaia represents the dream of many generations as it it as generations many of dream the represents Gaia achieving an improvement of about 100 compared to to compared 100 about of improvement an achieving orbit, the Hipparcos satellite observed the whole sky, sky, whole the observed satellite Hipparcos the orbit, ear Y of them in the solar neighbourhood.
    [Show full text]
  • The Slow Spin of the Young Sub-Stellar Companion GQ Lupi B and Its Orbital Configuration Henriette Schwarz1?, Christian Ginski1, Remco J
    Astronomy & Astrophysics manuscript no. AA-2016-28908-preprint c ESO 2016 July 4, 2016 The slow spin of the young sub-stellar companion GQ Lupi b and its orbital configuration Henriette Schwarz1?, Christian Ginski1, Remco J. de Kok1; 2, Ignas A. G. Snellen1, Matteo Brogi3; 5, and Jayne L. Birkby4; 6 1 Leiden Observatory, Leiden University, PO Box 9513, 2300 RA Leiden, The Netherlands 2 SRON Netherlands Institute for Space Research, Sorbonnelaan 2, 3584 CA Utrecht, The Netherlands 3 Center for Astrophysics and Space Astronomy, University of Colorado at Boulder, CO 80309 Boulder, USA 4 Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics, 60 Garden Street, MA 02138 Cambridge, USA 5 NASA Hubble Fellow 6 NASA Sagan Fellow ABSTRACT The spin of a planet or brown dwarf is related to the accretion process, and therefore studying spin can help promote our understand- ing of the formation of such objects. We present the projected rotational velocity of the young sub-stellar companion GQ Lupi b, along with its barycentric radial velocity. The directly imaged exoplanet or brown dwarf companion joins a small but growing en- semble of wide-orbit sub-stellar companions with a spin measurement. The GQ Lupi system was observed at high spectral resolution (R ∼100 000), and in the analysis we made use of both spectral and spatial filtering to separate the signal of the companion from that of the host star. We detect both CO (S/N=11.6) and H2O (S/N=7.7) in the atmosphere of GQ Lupi b by cross-correlating with model +0:9 −1 spectra, and we find it to be a slow rotator with a projected rotational velocity of 5:3−1:0 km s .
    [Show full text]
  • 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.
    [Show full text]
  • An Upper Limit on the Mass of the Circumplanetary Disk for DH Tau B
    Draft version August 28, 2021 Preprint typeset using LATEX style emulateapj v. 12/16/11 AN UPPER LIMIT ON THE MASS OF THE CIRCUM-PLANETARY DISK FOR DH TAU B* Schuyler G. Wolff1, Franc¸ois Menard´ 2, Claudio Caceres3, Charlene Lefevre` 4, Mickael Bonnefoy2,Hector´ Canovas´ 5,Sebastien´ Maret2, Christophe Pinte2, Matthias R. Schreiber6, and Gerrit van der Plas2 Draft version August 28, 2021 ABSTRACT DH Tau is a young (∼1 Myr) classical T Tauri star. It is one of the few young PMS stars known to be associated with a planetary mass companion, DH Tau b, orbiting at large separation and detected by direct imaging. DH Tau b is thought to be accreting based on copious Hα emission and exhibits variable Paschen Beta emission. NOEMA observations at 230 GHz allow us to place constraints on the disk dust mass for both DH Tau b and the primary in a regime where the disks will appear optically thin. We estimate a disk dust mass for the primary, DH Tau A of 17:2 ± 1:7 M⊕, which gives a disk- to-star mass ratio of 0.014 (assuming the usual Gas-to-Dust mass ratio of 100 in the disk). We find a conservative disk dust mass upper limit of 0.42M⊕ for DH Tau b, assuming that the disk temperature is dominated by irradiation from DH Tau b itself. Given the environment of the circumplanetary disk, variable illumination from the primary or the equilibrium temperature of the surrounding cloud would lead to even lower disk mass estimates. A MCFOST radiative transfer model including heating of the circumplanetary disk by DH Tau b and DH Tau A suggests that a mass averaged disk temperature of 22 K is more realistic, resulting in a dust disk mass upper limit of 0.09M⊕ for DH Tau b.
    [Show full text]
  • Astrophysical Artefact in the Astrometric Detection of Exoplanets ?
    Astrophysical artefact in the astrometric detection of exoplanets ? Jean Schneider LUTh – Paris Observatory Work in progress ● Dynamical and brightness astrometry ● Astrophysical sources of excess brightness – Simulations – Observations ● Conclusion 12 Oct 2011 1 Context Ultimate goal: the precise physical characterization of Earth-mass planets in the Habitable Zone (~ 1 AU) by direct spectro- polarimetric imaging It will also require a good knowledge of their mass. Two approaches (also used to find Earth-mass planets): – Radial Velocity measurements – Astrometry 12 Oct 2011 2 Context Radial Velocity and Astrometric mass measurements have both their limitations . Here we investigate a possible artefact of the astrometric approach for the Earth-mass regime at 1 AU. ==> not applicable to Gaia or PRIMA/ESPRI Very simple idea: can a blob in a disc mimic the astrometric signal of an Earth-mass planet at 1 AU? 12 Oct 2011 3 Dynamical and brightness astrometry Baryc. M M * C B I Ph I I << I 1 2 2 1 Photoc. a M a = C ● Dynamical astrometry B M* D I I M ● 2 a 2 C a Brightness (photometric) astrometry Ph= − B= − I1 D I1 M* D Question: can ph be > B ? 12 Oct 2011 4 Dynamical and brightness astrometry Baryc. M M * C B I Ph I I << I 1 2 2 1 Photoc. MC a −6 a ● = B ~ 3 x 10 for a 1 Earth-mass planet M* D D I a I a = 2 − ~ 2 -6 ● Ph B Can I /I be > 3x10 ? I1 D I1 D 2 1 12 Oct 2011 5 Dynamical and brightness astrometry Baryc.
    [Show full text]
  • Arxiv:2105.11583V2 [Astro-Ph.EP] 2 Jul 2021 Keck-HIRES, APF-Levy, and Lick-Hamilton Spectrographs
    Draft version July 6, 2021 Typeset using LATEX twocolumn style in AASTeX63 The California Legacy Survey I. A Catalog of 178 Planets from Precision Radial Velocity Monitoring of 719 Nearby Stars over Three Decades Lee J. Rosenthal,1 Benjamin J. Fulton,1, 2 Lea A. Hirsch,3 Howard T. Isaacson,4 Andrew W. Howard,1 Cayla M. Dedrick,5, 6 Ilya A. Sherstyuk,1 Sarah C. Blunt,1, 7 Erik A. Petigura,8 Heather A. Knutson,9 Aida Behmard,9, 7 Ashley Chontos,10, 7 Justin R. Crepp,11 Ian J. M. Crossfield,12 Paul A. Dalba,13, 14 Debra A. Fischer,15 Gregory W. Henry,16 Stephen R. Kane,13 Molly Kosiarek,17, 7 Geoffrey W. Marcy,1, 7 Ryan A. Rubenzahl,1, 7 Lauren M. Weiss,10 and Jason T. Wright18, 19, 20 1Cahill Center for Astronomy & Astrophysics, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA 91125, USA 2IPAC-NASA Exoplanet Science Institute, Pasadena, CA 91125, USA 3Kavli Institute for Particle Astrophysics and Cosmology, Stanford University, Stanford, CA 94305, USA 4Department of Astronomy, University of California Berkeley, Berkeley, CA 94720, USA 5Cahill Center for Astronomy & Astrophysics, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA 91125, USA 6Department of Astronomy & Astrophysics, The Pennsylvania State University, 525 Davey Lab, University Park, PA 16802, USA 7NSF Graduate Research Fellow 8Department of Physics & Astronomy, University of California Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA 90095, USA 9Division of Geological and Planetary Sciences, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA 91125, USA 10Institute for Astronomy, University of Hawai`i,
    [Show full text]
  • UC Irvine UC Irvine Previously Published Works
    UC Irvine UC Irvine Previously Published Works Title Astrophysics in 2006 Permalink https://escholarship.org/uc/item/5760h9v8 Journal Space Science Reviews, 132(1) ISSN 0038-6308 Authors Trimble, V Aschwanden, MJ Hansen, CJ Publication Date 2007-09-01 DOI 10.1007/s11214-007-9224-0 License https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ 4.0 Peer reviewed eScholarship.org Powered by the California Digital Library University of California Space Sci Rev (2007) 132: 1–182 DOI 10.1007/s11214-007-9224-0 Astrophysics in 2006 Virginia Trimble · Markus J. Aschwanden · Carl J. Hansen Received: 11 May 2007 / Accepted: 24 May 2007 / Published online: 23 October 2007 © Springer Science+Business Media B.V. 2007 Abstract The fastest pulsar and the slowest nova; the oldest galaxies and the youngest stars; the weirdest life forms and the commonest dwarfs; the highest energy particles and the lowest energy photons. These were some of the extremes of Astrophysics 2006. We attempt also to bring you updates on things of which there is currently only one (habitable planets, the Sun, and the Universe) and others of which there are always many, like meteors and molecules, black holes and binaries. Keywords Cosmology: general · Galaxies: general · ISM: general · Stars: general · Sun: general · Planets and satellites: general · Astrobiology · Star clusters · Binary stars · Clusters of galaxies · Gamma-ray bursts · Milky Way · Earth · Active galaxies · Supernovae 1 Introduction Astrophysics in 2006 modifies a long tradition by moving to a new journal, which you hold in your (real or virtual) hands. The fifteen previous articles in the series are referenced oc- casionally as Ap91 to Ap05 below and appeared in volumes 104–118 of Publications of V.
    [Show full text]
  • Exep Science Plan Appendix (SPA) (This Document)
    ExEP Science Plan, Rev A JPL D: 1735632 Release Date: February 15, 2019 Page 1 of 61 Created By: David A. Breda Date Program TDEM System Engineer Exoplanet Exploration Program NASA/Jet Propulsion Laboratory California Institute of Technology Dr. Nick Siegler Date Program Chief Technologist Exoplanet Exploration Program NASA/Jet Propulsion Laboratory California Institute of Technology Concurred By: Dr. Gary Blackwood Date Program Manager Exoplanet Exploration Program NASA/Jet Propulsion Laboratory California Institute of Technology EXOPDr.LANET Douglas Hudgins E XPLORATION PROGRAMDate Program Scientist Exoplanet Exploration Program ScienceScience Plan Mission DirectorateAppendix NASA Headquarters Karl Stapelfeldt, Program Chief Scientist Eric Mamajek, Deputy Program Chief Scientist Exoplanet Exploration Program JPL CL#19-0790 JPL Document No: 1735632 ExEP Science Plan, Rev A JPL D: 1735632 Release Date: February 15, 2019 Page 2 of 61 Approved by: Dr. Gary Blackwood Date Program Manager, Exoplanet Exploration Program Office NASA/Jet Propulsion Laboratory Dr. Douglas Hudgins Date Program Scientist Exoplanet Exploration Program Science Mission Directorate NASA Headquarters Created by: Dr. Karl Stapelfeldt Chief Program Scientist Exoplanet Exploration Program Office NASA/Jet Propulsion Laboratory California Institute of Technology Dr. Eric Mamajek Deputy Program Chief Scientist Exoplanet Exploration Program Office NASA/Jet Propulsion Laboratory California Institute of Technology This research was carried out at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology, under a contract with the National Aeronautics and Space Administration. © 2018 California Institute of Technology. Government sponsorship acknowledged. Exoplanet Exploration Program JPL CL#19-0790 ExEP Science Plan, Rev A JPL D: 1735632 Release Date: February 15, 2019 Page 3 of 61 Table of Contents 1.
    [Show full text]