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SUMMARY:HARPS-3 and a Terra Hunting Experiment at the INT - Samantha Thomp
 son (Cavendish)
DTSTART:20141119T163000Z
DTEND:20141119T173000Z
UID:TALK55109@talks.cam.ac.uk
CONTACT:Dr B.-O. Demory
DESCRIPTION:One of the challenges over the next decade is to find a reliab
 le methodology to measure the mass of low-(Earth) mass exoplanets with orb
 ital periods more similar to that of our own Earth.  One method is to use 
 the radial velocity technique which uses the shift of stellar spectral lin
 es relative to a stable calibration source\; from this the presence and ma
 sses of planetary bodies in orbit about a star can be deduced.  The diffic
 ulty lies in reliably retrieving a low amplitude RV signal buried within t
 he stellar variability noise.  To address this problem we are proposing a 
 "Terra Hunting Experiment" using a close-copy of the HARPS spectrograph in
 stalled on the 2.5m Isaac Newton Telescope (INT) in La Palma.  The experim
 ent will collect daily RV measurements on a sample of our brightest solar-
 type stars\; a long series of daily sampled data will reduce signal aliase
 s and improve the retrieval process for low amplitude signals.  I will pre
 sent an overview of the planned instrument (HARPS3)\, the rationale behind
  the experiment and a description of the proposed survey programme.
LOCATION:Martin Ryle Seminar Room\, Kavli Institute
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