Arts and Science Revisited - 3/21/96
Philip A. Ianna, Leander McCormick Observtory, University of Virginia
Searching for Planets and Brown Dwarfs
Units
Definitions
- planet: earth to jupiter sized object orbiting a star
- brown dwarf: object with mass smaller than about 0.085 solar masses, but
larger than about 0.013 solar masses
WHY search for planets and BD's
WHERE should we look
nearest objects (trigonometric parallax)
surveys disclose potential nearby candidates
- spectral type (G, K, M dwarfs)
- by color (yellow to very red)
- by motion (higher usually nearer)
HOW can the objects be identified?
WHAT has been found to date
WHITHER the future.