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[42.05] Two Suns in the Sky: Many Extrasolar Planets Orbiting Stars in Multiple Systems

D. Raghavan, T.J. Henry, J. Subasavage, T. Beaulieu (Georgia State University)

We present results of a reconnaissance for stellar and brown dwarf companions to 102 star systems with probable planets. Stars listed in the Extrasolar Planets Catalog (maintained by Jean Schneider, Paris Observatory) as of July 18, 2003 are being investigated in order to build a comprehensive list of new and known companions to each stellar primary. New common proper motion companions are found via the multi-epoch SuperCOSMOS and STScI Digitized Sky Surveys, and new photometric companions are found using 2MASS. We confirm or refute each known companion listed in the Washington Double Star (WDS) Catalog (the world's most comprehensive database on multiple stars), the Catalog of Nearby Stars (CNS), and Hipparcos.

Preliminary findings indicate that as many as 32 out of the 102 systems (31 brown dwarf companions. In addition, we have detected 11 new possible companions in 8 of the star systems. We have also found evidence for 12 false entries of companions in WDS --- they do not show any related proper motion in the DSS plates. These results indicate that a careful inventory of the stars harboring extrasolar planets is needed, and that solar systems are likely to be found in a large number of multiple systems.

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Bulletin of the American Astronomical Society, 35#5
© 2003. The American Astronomical Soceity.