HARPS News Updates

On this page, we list the main changes that affected the instrument and this web site. More News and Information can be found in the Science information pages

HARPS News

• April 21st, 2009: Lightest exoplanet ever discovered, read the press release.
• October 17th, 2008: New pipeline release: 3.4
• August 22nd, 2008: New flat field lamp (with filters) installed. More uniform spectrum across the HARPS wavelength range.
• August 20th, 2008: The EGGS system runs in single fiber mode only. The reference fiber is damaged. However, the main science mode of EGGS is unaffected. Read more.
• June 16th, 2008: A system with three "super-Earth" planets has been detected by HARPS. The three planets have masses of 4.2, 6.9 and 9.2 the mass of the Earth. The RMS of the residuals to the fitted orbits is of only 0.85m/s in 5 years, including instrumental and stellar effects. ESO press release, Nature press release.
• April 15th, 2008: The birthplace of the exoplanet-host star Iota Orologii has been identified thanks to HARPS observations: Press release.
• May 1st, 2007: HARPS reduced data can be requested from the HARPS Advanced Data Products archive.
• April 25th, 2007: HARPS discovers the first rocky planet (5 times the mass of the Earth) in the habitable zone.
  Read the ESO press release and the paper
• December 08th, 2006: New pipeline release: 3.0.
• May 17th, 2006: HARPS unveils an extrasolar planetary system with three Neptune-mass planets. Read the ESO press release
• May 15th, 2006: New, "slow" readout mode available.
• May 15th, 2006: New release of the User manual for P78
• March 1st, 2006: The high efficiency fibre link (EGGS) has been included in the call for proposal for period 78.
• August 8, 2004: Secondary mirror unit changed; system efficiency increased by up to 40%.
• August, 2004: 14 Earth masses exoplanet discovered ! ESO press release (22-04), Paper
• May, 2004: Iodine self calibration method not available.
• December, 2003: First HARPS planet candidate (HD330075b): Announcement, Paper
• October 1, 2003: Instrument offered to the community.
• February 11, 2003: FIRST LIGHT! ESO Press Release (06/03)

Press Releases

• The lightest exoplanet ever discovered, and possibly a planet in the habitable zone (ESO Science Release 15/09, April 21st, 2009).
• A Trio of Super-Earths. A harvest of low-mass exoplanets discovered with HARPS (ESO Science Release 19/08, 16 June 2008).
• HARPS unveils an extrasolar planetary system with three Neptune-mass planets (ESO press release 18-06, May 18th 2006).
• 14 earth masses exoplanet discovered (August 2004, press relase 22-04)
• HARPS first light: 11-02-2003 (press release 06-03)

HARPS in the general press

• National Geographics, 2004