The Astrometric Imaging Telescope: Detection of planetary systems with imaging and astrometry |
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| Authors: | Steven H Pravdo Richard J Terrile Christ Ftaclas George D Gatewood Eugene H Levy |
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| Institution: | (1) Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, California, USA;(2) Hughes Danbury Optical Systems, Inc., Danbury, Connecticut, USA;(3) Allegheny Observatory, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA;(4) Lunar and Planetary Laboratory, University of Arizona, Tucson, Arizona, USA |
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| Abstract: | The Astrometric Imaging Telescope (AIT) is a proposed spaceborne observatory whose primary goal is the detection and study of extra-solar planetary systems. It contains two instruments that use complementary techniques to address the goal. The first instrument, the Coronagraphic Imager, takes direct images of nearby stars and Jupiter-size planets. It uses a telescope with scattering-compensated optics and a high-efficiency coronagraph to separate reflected planet light from the central star light. Planet detections take hours; confirmations occur in months. With a program duration of about 2 years, about 50 stars are observed. The second instrument, the Astrometric Photometer, shares the same telescope and focal plane. It uses a Ronchi ruling that is translated across the focal plane to simultaneously measure the positions of each target star and about 25 reference stars with sufficient accuracy to detect Uranus-mass planets around hundreds of stars. Enough stars of several spectral types are observed to obtain a statistically significant measurement of the prevalence of planetary systems. This observing program takes about 10 years to complete. The combination of both instruments in a single telescope system results from a number of innovative solutions that are described in this paper.Paper presented at the Conference onPlanetary Systems: Formation, Evolution, and Detection held 7–10 December, 1992 at CalTech, Pasadena, California, U.S.A. |
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