Applications for the Precise Timing of Exoplanetary Orbits

February 21, 2013

When: February 21, 2013 3:30PM

NASA Exoplanet Science Institute

The field of exoplanets has rapidly expanded from the exclusivity of exoplanet detection to include exoplanet characterization. Even so, studies of internal structure and atmospheres have been largely restricted to the low-periastron distance regime due to the bias inherent in the geometric transit probability. Monitoring known radial velocity planets at predicted transit times is a proven method of detecting transits, and presents an avenue through which to explore the mass-radius relationship of exoplanets at long periods around bright host stars. I will present new results from the Transit Ephemeris Refinement and Monitoring Survey (TERMS) which improves the orbits of known exoplanets through radial velocity and photometric monitoring. From this I will discuss additional applications of precise orbital timing beyond transit searches.

Stephen R. Kane

Dr. Stephen R. Kane is an astrophysicist at the NASA Exoplanet Science Institute located at the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena, USA. His interests lie primarily in the area of extra-solar planet detection and characterization, a topic in which he has more than 130 refereed journal publications. Originally from Australia, he graduated with a Bachelor of Science (Honours) from Macquarie University, Sydney in 1995. His postgraduate studies were undertaken at the Space Telescope Science Institute in Baltimore, USA and he received his Doctorate of Philosophy from the University of Tasmania in 2000. He has over 17 years of experience in the field of exoplanets and is proficient with many different approaches to the detection of exoplanets, such as microlensing, transits, and radial velocities. He is the Principle Investigator of numerous exoplanet-related projects, including a photometric survey of known planet-hosting stars to search for transit signatures called TERMS (Transit Ephemeris Refinement and Monitoring Survey). He is the creator and maintainer of the Habitable Zone Gallery (www.hzgallery.org) which tracks Keplerian planetary orbits and provides habitable zone information for known exosystems.

Seminar