(IAP) Searching For Planets Around Distant Stars

Wednesday January 24, 2024 4:00 pm

TESS, the Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite is monitoring hundreds of thousands stars, searching for temporary drops in brightness caused by planetary transits. Launched in 2018, this first-ever spaceborne all-sky transit survey has identified over 7000 planet candidates covering a wide range of sizes and orbital parameters. TESS has four identical, highly optimized, red-sensitive, wide-field cameras that together can monitor a 24 degree by 90 degree strip of the sky. By monitoring each strip for 27 days and nights, TESS repeatedly tiles the sky, with each sector allowing a new set of exoplanet parameters to be surveyed. This tour will start with a visit to the science office for a project overview and a look at the techniques used to find planets. It will end with a visit to the instrument laboratory where the cameras are tested and developed.

Speakers

Event Contact

Glen Petitpas