| Extra-Solar
Planets |
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| • | Hard to see faint planet right next to very bright star |
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| • | Two indirect techniques available |
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| (Like a binary star system but where 2nd “star” has extremely low |
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| mass) |
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| – | Watch for Doppler “wobble” in position/spectrum of star |
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| – | Watch for “transit” of planet which slightly dims light from star |
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| • | About 110 planets discovered since 1996 See http://exoplanets.org/ |
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| • | Tend to be big (Jupiter) and very close to
star (easier to see) |
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