exo-planet task force (exoptf) stephen ridgway (nasa) dana lehr, michael briley (nsf) garth...
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Exo-Planet Task Force (ExoPTF)
Stephen Ridgway (NASA)
Dana Lehr, Michael Briley (NSF)
Garth Illingworth (AAAC)
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Publications and Planets
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Exo-Planet PublicationsExo-Planet Discoveries
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One year of ExoPlanet Conferences• October 16 - 18 , 2006
– 6th workshop of the European Astrobiology Network Association
– Lyon, France
• October 23 - 27 , 2006– From Brown Dwarfs to Planets
– Leiden, Neederland
• November 06 - 10 , 2006– TPF/Darwin Workshop
– Pasadena, CA, USA
December 04 - 08 , 2006– Disks, Winds, and Jets: From Planets to Quasars
– Mount Stromlo Observatory, Canberra, Australia
• December 27 , 2006 - January 05 , 2007– The Lives of Low-Mass Stars and their Planetary Systems
– Jerusalem, Israel
• January 05 - 06 , 2007– Evolution and Exploration of Solar Systems
– Irvine, CA, USA
• January 07 - 11 , 2007– 209th AAS Meeting
– Formation and Detection of Habitable Planets session
– Next Generation Radial Velocity Planet Surveys session
– Seattle, WA, USA
• January 15 - 17 , 2007– Gravitational Microlensing Workshop
– Daejeon, Republic of Korea
• February 19 - March 03 , 2007– Winter School on Extrasolar Planets & Astrobiology
– Split, Hrvatska
• March 05 - 08 , 2007– ESO Workshop on Observing Planetary Systems
– Santiago, Chile
• April 11 - 14 , 2007– From Stars to Planets: Connecting our Understanding of Star and Planet
Formation
– Gainesville, FL, USA
• May 28 - June 08 , 2007– Summer School: Circumstellar Disks and Planets at Very High Angular
Resolution
– Porto, Portugal
• June 09 - July 06 , 2007– Summer School on Extrasolar Planets and Brown Dwarfs
– Castel Gandolfo, Rome, Italia
• June 22 - 24 , 2007– Transformational Science with ALMA: Through Disks to Stars and
Planets
– Charlottesville, VA, USA
• June 24 - 29 , 2007– Extreme Solar Systems
– Santorini, Hellas
• July 17 - 20 , 2007– Bioastronomy 2007: Molecules, Microbes, and Extraterrestrial Life
– San Juan, Puerto Rico
• October 01 - 05 , 2007– From Planets to Dark Energy: the Modern Radio Universe
– Manchester, UK
• October 15 - 19 , 2007– IAU Symposium 248 : A Giant Step: From Milli- to Micro-arcsecond
Astrometry
– Shanghai, Popular Republic of China
• October 22 - 26 , 2007– IAU Symposium 249: Exoplanets: Detection, Formation and Dynamics
– Suzhou, Popular Republic of China
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IAU Colloquium 200
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Active ExoPlanet/Exosystem Observational Programs
• Radial velocity monitoring
• Transit searches
• Microlensing
• YSO’s, preplanetary and debris disks
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Recent Results for ExoSystems
• Many detections
• Rich variety of exosystems
• Multi-planet systems
• Lower masses
• Closer to solar system analogues
• Potentially Earth-like planets may be common
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Status of Major NASA ExoPlanet Missions
• Kepler - exoplanet study by transits– Statistics of short-period planets - down to Earth-size– In implementation
• SIM - exoplanet study by astrometry + astrophysics– Detection of nearby candidate Earth-like planets– In formulation– Advanced stage of engineering readiness– Currently delayed - engineering/prototyping/science preparation
continues
• TPF - exoplanet study by spectroscopy; astrophysics– Direct study of candidate Earth-like planets– In pre-formulation– Key (enabling) technical demonstrations completed in infrared
interferometry and visible coronagraphy– Currently deferred - technical/scientific development continues
Nav
igat
or
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Astronomy and Astrophysics Decade Review
2007 - 2010
AAAC ExoPlanet Task Force2006 - 2007
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The ExoPTF Charge (draft)
• This letter is to request that the AAAC establish an Exo-Planet Task Force as a subcommittee to jointly advise NSF and NASA on the future of the search for and study of exo-planets, planetary systems, Earth-like planets and habitable environments around other stars.
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The ExoPTF Charge (draft)
• The ExoPTF is asked to recommend a 15-year strategy to detect and characterize exo-planets and planetary systems, and their formation and evolution, including specifically the identification of nearby candidate Earth-like planets and study of their habitability. The strategy may include planning and preparation for facilities and missions beyond the 15-year horizon.
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The ExoPTF Charge (draft)1. The key scientific questions and issues, in the context of recent developments in exo-planet science
and planet formation;
2. Measurement techniques, their enabling technologies, and their implications for future survey and measurement directions and priorities;
3. Specific types of experiments (e.g., radial velocity measurements, transit searches, microlensing, adaptive optics, coronagraphy) with respect to their expected scientific return and contributions;
4. The potential and complementary science return from measurements at different wavelengths;
5. Major decision points in the exo-planet study process;
6. Important steps, precursor instrumentation on the ground or in space, R&D, and other work required in preparation for, in support of, or alternative to, these and related experiments and missions;
7. Identification of the nature and scope of investments in key technologies relevant to the scientific goals of the program;
8. The complementary ground-based and space-based research opportunities, coordination between funding agencies and possible synergistic advances;
9. Opportunities for cooperation, coordination or synergy with international programs, such as the Darwin mission at the European Space Agency, or the Ground-based European Nulling Interferometer Experiment (GENIE) and Very Large Telescope Interferometer (VLTI) projects at the European Southern Observatory;
10.Cost effectiveness and affordability.
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Notional Schedule
• Dec 2006 - First telecon, invite white papers, form working groups
• Jan 2007 - briefings and discussion• Mar 2007 - briefings and discussion• May 2007 - recommendations, report outline,
assignments• July 2007 - recommendations and writing• Sept 2007 - review, wordsmithing,
concurrence• Oct 2007 - deliver report