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J. Ge, S. Mahadevan (University of Florida), J. van Eyken (Unviersity of Florida), C. DeWitt, R. Cohen, A. Vanden Heuvel, X. Wan, P. Cheng, S. Dermott, A. Sarajedini, C. Telesco, E. Lada (University of Florida), R. Kron (University of Chicago), M. Strauss, J. Gunn (Princeton University), S. Seager (OCIW), S. Shaklan (JPL), D. Lin (UCSC)
We present a plan for a decade-long, all-sky, extrasolar planet survey at the Sloan 2.5 meter wide field telescope for monitoring 1,000,000 stars in the solar neighborhood to detect 100,000 of extrasolar planets between 2005-2020. This survey is enabled by a new generation multiple object Doppler radial velocity instrument based on new Doppler technology called dispersed fixed-delay interferometry pioneered by Ge’s group over last four years. The instrument capable of observing hundreds of stars in a single observation increases planet survey speed by more than two orders of magnitude over current single object echelle instruments. One new instrument is designed for monitoring F,G,K type stars in the visible and looking for planetary systems similar to our own. The other one is designed for monitoring very low mass M type stars in the near infrared aiming at detection of earth-like planets in a habitable zone, which may host life. In the end of the survey, the total numbers of known extrasolar planetary systems will be increased by hundreds of times over current total number of known planets. This survey will provide a powerful statistical base for understanding different kinds of extrasolar planetary systems, their formation and evolution.
This project has been supported by NSF, NASA and University of Florida
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Bulletin of the American Astronomical Society, 36 5
© 2004. The American Astronomical Society.