The Galactic Exoplanet Survey Telescope: A Proposed Space-Based Microlensing Survey for Terrestrial Extra-Solar Planets
| dc.creator | Bennett, David P. | |
| dc.creator | Rhie, Sun Hong | |
| dc.date | 2000-03-08 | |
| dc.date.accessioned | 2026-07-07T01:52:39Z | |
| dc.date.available | 2026-07-07T01:52:39Z | |
| dc.description | We present a conceptual design for a space based Galactic Exoplanet Survey Telescope (GEST) which will use the gravitational microlensing technique to detect extra solar planets with masses as low as that of Mars at all separations >~ 1 AU. The microlensing data would be collected by a diffraction limited, wide field imaging telescope of ~ 1.5m aperture equipped with a large array of red-optimized CCD detectors. Such a system would be able to monitor $\sim 2\times 10^8$ stars in $\sim 6$ square degrees of the Galactic bulge at intervals of 20-30 minutes, and it would observe $\sim 12000$ microlensing events in three bulge seasons. If planetary systems like our own are common, GEST should be able to detect $\sim 5000$ planets over a 2.5 year lifetime. If gas giants like Jupiter and Saturn are rare, then GEST would detect $\sim 1300$ planets in a 2.5 year mission if we assume that most planetary systems are dominated by planets of about Neptune's' mass. Such a mission would also discover $\sim 100$ planets of an Earth mass or smaller if such planets are common. This is a factor of $\sim 50$ better than the most ambitious ground based programs that have been proposed. GEST will also be sensitive to planets which have been separated from their parent stars. | |
| dc.description | 7 pages with 14 color postscript figures included. Will appear in the proceedings of the Disks, Planetesimals & Planets Meeting held in Tenerife, Jan. 24-28, 2000 | |
| dc.identifier | https://arxiv.org/abs/astro-ph/0003102 | |
| dc.identifier | http://arxiv.org/abs/astro-ph/0003102 | |
| dc.identifier.uri | http://salesiana.dossiersoluciones.com/handle/123456789/692 | |
| dc.subject | Astrophysics | |
| dc.title | The Galactic Exoplanet Survey Telescope: A Proposed Space-Based Microlensing Survey for Terrestrial Extra-Solar Planets | |
| dc.type | text |