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<TITLE>Extra solar planet talk Thursday 12:30 pm at CfA</TITLE>
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<P><SPAN LANG="en-us"></SPAN><A HREF="http://cfa-www.harvard.edu/cfa/calendar/latest.html"><SPAN LANG="en-us"><U><FONT COLOR="#0000FF" SIZE=2 FACE="Arial">http://cfa-www.harvard.edu/cfa/calendar/latest.html</FONT></U></SPAN></A><SPAN LANG="en-us"></SPAN>
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<P><SPAN LANG="en-us"><FONT SIZE=2 FACE="Arial">12:30 pm: Optical and Infrared Astronomy Division Lunch Talk. "Photometric Follow-up Observations of Transiting Extrasolar Planet Candidates," Dr. Matt Holman, CfA. Pratt Conference Room.</FONT></SPAN></P>
<P><SPAN LANG="en-us"><FONT SIZE=2 FACE="Arial">Abstract: Although more than one hundred planets have been discovered to date in ongoing radial velocity surveys, so far only one, OGLE-TR-56, has been discovered in a transit survey and confirmed with radial velocity observations. However, with the large number of transit searches currently underway (OGLE, HAT, EXPLORE, PISCES, STARE, STEPSS, etc), the census of planets discovered through transit observations is expected to dramatically increase in the next few years. High precision photometric follow-up observations, attainable given the relatively bright host stars of many of these planets, can yield of a wealth physical information about the planets, as recently demonstrated with HST observations of HD209458. The CfA, with access to large aperture telescopes in both hemispheres, in uniquely positioned to carry out such observations. I will present two-color photometric observations and a radius estimate of the transiting planet candidate, OGLE-TR-10, obtained with the 6.5-m Clay telescope. In addition, I will present theoretical calculations of the changes in the interval between successive transit that result from the gravitational influence of a second, exterior planet in transiting systems. </FONT></SPAN></P>
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