Precision astrometry mission for exoplanet detection around binary stars
Abstract
We propose an innovative low-cost mission capable of detecting potentially habitable planets around a sample of solar-type stars near the sun. Our mission will deliver relative measurements of stellar position and motion at sub-micro acrsecond precision. These data, in turn, will reveal the presence of orbiting exoplanets. For the case of our primary targets Alpha Centauri A & B, objects below one Earth mass will be accessible when the end-of-mission astrometric precision requirement of 0.4 micro-arcsecond is achieved. The technique will directly reveal not only the presence of the planet but deliver fundamental data such as masses and 3-D orbital parameters including eccentricity and inclination. This paper describes the optical and mechanical architecture of the mission and first-order instrument design. We also explain the instrument stability requirements imposed by the diffractive pupil post-processing calibration limitations. Our design baseline is a stable two-mirror telescope that images the field directly on CCD camera minimizing the number of reflections and optical components.
Additional Information
© 2018 Society of Photo-optical Instrumentation Engineers (SPIE).Additional details
- Eprint ID
- 88390
- Resolver ID
- CaltechAUTHORS:20180731-135628598
- Created
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2018-07-31Created from EPrint's datestamp field
- Updated
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2021-11-16Created from EPrint's last_modified field
- Caltech groups
- Infrared Processing and Analysis Center (IPAC)
- Series Name
- Proceedings of SPIE
- Series Volume or Issue Number
- 10698