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ESA-ESO Working Group on Extra-Solar PlanetsWorking Group MembersDainis Dravins (Lund) Olivier Hainaut (ESO), co-chair Alain Leger (IAS) Michael Perryman (ESA), chair Andreas Quirrenbach (Leiden) Heike Rauer (DLR) Abstract of final report
Various techniques are being used to search for extra-solar planetary
signatures, including accurate measurement of radial velocity and positional
(astrometric) displacements, gravitational microlensing, and photometric
transits. Planned space experiments promise a considerable increase in the
detections and statistical knowledge arising especially from transit and
astrometric measurements over the years 200515, with some hundreds of
terrestrial-type planets expected from transit measurements, and many thousands
of Jupiter-mass planets expected from astrometric measurements.
Beyond 2015, very ambitious space (Darwin/TPF) and ground (OWL) experiments are targeting direct detection of nearby Earth-mass planets in the habitable zone and the measurement of their spectral characteristics. Beyond these, `Life Finder' (aiming to produce confirmatory evidence of the presence of life) and `Earth Imager' (some massive interferometric array providing resolved images of a distant Earth) appear as distant visions. This report, to ESA and ESO, summarises the direction of exo-planet
research that can be expected over the next 10 years or so, identifies the
roles of the major facilities of the two organisations in the field, and
concludes with some recommendations which may assist development of the field.
download report: pdf (1.1 MB)To request a printed copy, please contact Britt Sjoeberg (bsjoeber@eso.org).
Maintained by Wolfram Freudling <wfreudli@eso.org> |
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