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Detection of Other Planetary Systems Using PhotometryDetection of extrasolar short-period planets, particularly if they are in the liquid-water zone, would be one of the most exciting discoveries of our lifetime. A well-planned space mission has the capability of making this discovery using the photometric method. An Earth-sized planet transiting a Sun-like star will cause a decrease in the apparent luminosity of the star by one part in 10,000 with a duration of about 12 hours and a period of about one year. Given a random orientation of orbital plane alignments with the line-of-sight to a star, and assuming our solar system to be typical, one would expect 1 percent of the stars monitored to exhibit planetary transits. A null result would also be significant and indicate that Earth-sized planets are rare. For the mission to be successful one needs a sensor system that can simultaneously monitor many thousands of stars with a photometric precision of one part in 30,000 per hour of integration. Confirmation of a detection will involve detection of a second transit that will yield a period and predict the time for a third and subsequent transits. The technology issues that need to be addressed are twofold: one is for an appropriate optical design; the other is for a detector system with the necessary photometric precision. Two candidates for the detector system are silicon diodes and CCD's.
Document ID
19930019602
Acquisition Source
Legacy CDMS
Document Type
Conference Paper
Authors
Koch, D.
(NASA Ames Research Center Moffett Field, CA, United States)
Borucki, W.
(NASA Ames Research Center Moffett Field, CA, United States)
Reitsema, H.
(Ball Aerospace Systems Div. Boulder, CO., United States)
Date Acquired
September 6, 2013
Publication Date
January 1, 1993
Publication Information
Publication: Lunar and Planetary Inst., Workshop on Advanced Technologies for Planetary Instruments, Part 1
Subject Category
Astronomy
Accession Number
93N28791
Distribution Limits
Public
Copyright
Work of the US Gov. Public Use Permitted.
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