COROT detects Oscillations

COROT discovers its first Exoplanet and detects oscillations in a Sun-like star

COROT has detected its first seismic oscillations in the light curve of a sun-like star. The research team for spacecraft COROT revealed the first discoveries of this major European mission on 3rd of May.

The satellite has also found a very hot exoplanet and provisional estimates indicate it has a very large radius.

Based on the quality of this initial data, our knowledge of planets outside our own solar system, known as exoplanets, and of the interiors of stars should be vastly improved over the next three years.

The exoplanet, which has been named COROT-exo-1b, orbits around a yellow dwarf star similar to our Sun in about 1.5 days. It is situated roughly 1500 light years from us, in the direction of the constellation of the Unicorn (Monoceros). The oscillating star is of a similar type and located in the same region of the sky, but much nearer to us.

The satellite has two main advantages over ground-based projects. Firstly, it can observe the same stars continuously, without interruption, for up 150 days (60 days so far). Secondly, its position above the Earth’s atmosphere enables it to measure the brightness variations of stars much more precisely.

COROT detects planets by looking for transits, small dips in the apparent brightness of a star caused by a planet passing in front of it. While its first planet is large, the quality of the data suggests COROT will be able to identify rocky planets only a few times larger than our own Earth.

COROT may also be able to observe variations in the amount of stellar light reflected towards us by planets as they go around their orbits, giving some indication of their atmospheric properties.
SciTech Press Release 3rd May 2007.
________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________

Corot sees first light!

The first light detected by COROT comes from the constellation of the Unicorn near Orion, the great 'hunter' whose imposing silhouette stands out in the winter nights.

On 18 January, the telescope was carefully aligned with the region to be observed, facing away from the centre of our Galaxy. This setting that will be maintained until April, when the Sun's rays will start to interfere with the observations.
_______________________________________________________


_______________________________________________________
COROT will then rotate by 180 degrees and will start observing the opposite region towards the centre of the Milky Way. In the meantime the COROT scientists are preparing for the science phase to start in February, continuing a thorough examination of the data and the information collected so far.

More on COROT sees first light! from ESA International
_______________________________________________________
Developing a new vision for European astronomy

Michael Bode, Professor of Astrophysics at Liverpool John Moores University, has been charged with the vital task of developing the new 'roadmap', which will act as the blue print for the development of astronomy in Europe over the next 20 years. The roadmap will detail the infrastructure needed to deliver European astronomy's science vision - being agreed at a conference in Poitiers now (23-25th January 2007) hosted and organised by ASTRONET, a consortium of eleven European Science Agencies.

ASTRONET has an extensive brief covering all astrophysical objects from the Sun and Solar system to the global structure of the Universe, as well as every observing technique, in space and from the ground, and from radiation at any wavelength to astroparticles and gravitational waves.

Big questions remain in our understanding of the Universe, and ASTRONET has divided these challenges into four scientific areas:

Do we understand the extremes of the Universe?
How do galaxies form and evolve?
How do stars and planets form?
How do we fit in?
Answering these questions will require development of existing infrastructure as well as European wide investment in new facilities.
_______________________________________________________
Different Constellations, Different Times by Astroprof
_______________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________

COROT on its way

_______________________________________________________

Launched today from Kazakhstan, the unique astronomy mission COROT is on its way. Its twin goals are to detect exoplanets orbiting around other stars and to probe the mysteries of stellar interiors as never before. COROT is a French national space agency (CNES)-led mission to which ESA and European partners are adding a particularly strong international flavour.

Read More European Space Agency ESA release 27th December 2006


Europe goes searching for rocky planets

Of the rocky worlds, COROT is most sensitive to those with orbits of 50 days or less. That would place them closer to their parent star than Mercury is to the Sun. In most cases, such proximity to a star would scorch them beyond habitability. However, if such a world were discovered around a red dwarf star, it could be placed at exactly the right distance for liquid water to exist on its surface.

COROT will target at least fifty specific stars for a detailed study in this way. By choosing stars of different sizes and behaviour, COROT will supply astronomers with the most complete picture of stellar evolution to date.

Stellar physics is not a 'done deal'.
In fact, we are really just beginning with it.
_______________________________________________________
The Pelican Nebula from Astronomy Picture of the Day
Cosmic Spider is a good mother from Science Daily 11 April 2006
Portrait of a dramatic Stellar Crib from Science Daily 26 Dec 2006
The geometrics behind a supernova and its history by Plato
_______________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________
Famous Quotes Peace begins with a smile. Mother Teresa
_______________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________

Europe's COROT launch

_______________________________________________________

On 27 December, COROT is to be launched into space on a unique astronomy mission: its twin goals are to detect exoplanets orbiting around other stars and to probe the mysteries of stellar interiors as never before.

COROT stands for ‘Convection Rotation and planetary Transits’. The name describes the mission’s scientific goals. ‘Convection and rotation’ refer to the satellite’s capability to probe stellar interiors, studying the acoustic waves that ripple across the surface of stars, a technique called asteroseismology. ‘Transit’ refers to the technique whereby the presence of a planet orbiting a star can be inferred from the dimming starlight caused when the planet passes in front of it. To achieve its twin scientific objectives, COROT will monitor some 120,000 stars with its 30-centimetre telescope.


_______________________________________________________

COROT will lead a bold new search for planets around other stars. In the decade since the first discovery in 1995 of an exoplanet (51 Pegasi b), more than 200 other such planets outside our solar system have been detected using ground-based observatories. The COROT space telescope promises to find many more during its two-and-a-half-year mission, expanding the frontiers of our knowledge towards ever-smaller planets.

Many of the planets COROT will detect are expected to be 'hot Jupiters', gaseous worlds. An unknown percentage of those detected are expected to be rocky planets, maybe just a few times larger than the Earth (or smaller, even). If COROT finds such planets, they will constitute a new class of planet altogether.



While it is looking at a star, COROT will also be able to detect 'starquakes', acoustic waves generated deep inside a star that send ripples across its surface, altering its brightness. The exact nature of the ripples allows astronomers to calculate the star's precise mass, age and chemical composition.

_______________________________________________________
For additional information about COROT, you can also visit:
COROT at ESA: www.esa.int/SPECIALS/COROT and
COROT at CNES: http://www.cnes.fr/corot_en/
_______________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________