|
|
|
|
|
Planet-Hunting Astronomers Get Help from a Robot
|
|
|
장바울
|
2014-05-08 13:56:07, 조회 : 1,917 |
|
|
Planet-Hunting Astronomers Get Help from a Robot
AFP
The Automated Planet Finder (APF) is the newest telescope at UC’s Lick Observatory on Mt. Hamilton. Credit: Laurie Hatch, courtesy of UCSC.
Our prospects for finding Earthlike planets close to Earth may have become just a little brighter.
An automated telescope built to find planets among nearby stars has already discovered two new planetary systems. The Automated Planet Finder (APF) at the University of California–Santa Cruz's Lick Observatory on Mt. Hamilton consists of a 2.4-meter telescope and spectrometer designed specifically to gather starlight and analyze it for evidence of exoplanets.
\"The planetary systems we’re finding are our nearest neighbors. Those are the ones that will matter to future generations,\" according to project leader Steve Vogt, professor of astronomy and astrophysics at UC Santa Cruz.
The APF is, technically, a robot—a first for planet-hunting astronomy. It works around the clock and makes its own decisions, such as where to point the telescope when the weather changes. It is also highly effective in measuring the tiny wobbles in starlight that indicate gravitational tugs from an unseen body—the method of planet finding pioneered by APF co-investigator Geoffrey Marcy. —Cynthia G. Wagner
Source: University of California, Santa Cruz.
Watch the UC video on How to Discover Habitable Planets.
. |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
선교운동소개
나눔의광장 