The radial velocity method for finding exoplanets

This animation shows how astronomers use very precise spectrographs such as the HARPS instrument on the 3.6-metre telescope at La Silla, Chile to find exoplanets. As the planet orbits its gravitational pull causes the parent star to move back and forth. This tiny radial motion shifts the observed spectrum of the star by a correspondingly small amount because of the Doppler shift. With super-sensitive spectrographs such as HARPS the shifts can be measured and used to infer details of a planet’s mass and orbit.

Kredit:

ESO/L. Calçada

O videu

Id:eso1035g
Datum zveřejnění:24. srpna 2010 10:00
Související články:eso1035
Doba trvání:26 s
Frame rate:30 fps

O objektu

Typ:Milky Way : Star : Circumstellar Material : Planetary System
Kategorie:Exoplanets
Stars

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