New National Telescope at La Silla: TRAPPIST to Scout the Sky and Uncover Exoplanets and Comets

[Judi Lynn]

Date Released: Tuesday, June 8, 2010
New National Telescope at La Silla: TRAPPIST to Scout the Sky and Uncover Exoplanets and Comets

A new robotic telescope has had first light at ESO's La Silla Observatory, in Chile. TRAPPIST (TRAnsiting Planets and PlanetesImals Small Telescope) is devoted to the study of planetary systems through two approaches: the detection and characterization of planets located outside the Solar System (exoplanets) and the study of comets orbiting around the Sun. The 60-cm telescope is operated from a control room in Liege, Belgium, 12,000 km away.

"The two themes of the TRAPPIST project are important parts of an emerging interdisciplinary field of research -- astrobiology -- that aims at studying the origin and distribution of life in the Universe," explains Michael Gillon, who is in charge of the exoplanet studies.

"Terrestrial planets similar to our Earth are obvious targets for the search for life outside the Solar System, while comets are suspected to have played an important role in the appearance and development of life on our planet," adds his colleague Emmanuel Jehin, who leads the cometary part of the project.

TRAPPIST will detect and characterise exoplanets by making high precision measurements of "brightness dips" that might possibly be caused by exoplanet transits. During such a transit, the observed brightness of the star decreases slightly because the planet blocks a part of the starlight. The larger the planet, the more of the light is blocked and the more the brightness of the star will decrease <1>.

More:
http://eu.spaceref.com/news/viewpr.html?pid=30999


http://www.redorbit.com.nyud.net:8090/modules/reflib/article_images/2_a939de6ff82a1bda0a57cee7dd9bce65.jpg

La Silla, Chile

PROFESSIONAL OBSERVATORIES in CHILE
http://observatoryprofe.blogspot.com/

[gtar100]

1. Oh, the things we could do if our values and priorities were different.

We could build our dreams and become part of galactic life but instead we wallow in our oily filth and make enemies of ourselves.