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CfA SSP Division Seminar<br>DATE: MONDAY, November 20<br>TIME: 11:30<br>ROOM: Pratt<br>SPEAKER: Frederic Pont (Geneva Obs.)<br><br>"Transiting Extra-solar Planets: Towards Exo-planetology"<br><br>Abstract<br><br>
It is now "Year 11" for extrasolar planet studies, and the frantic<br>pace of progress shows no sign of slowing down. Recent landmarks<br>since the last Cool Star meeting include the detection of planets of a<br>
few Earth masses by radial velocity and microlensing surveys, and the<br>characterization of several transiting hot gas giants. Transiting<br>planets have served as the Rosetta Stone to connect the abstract<br>language of exoplanet orbits to the detailed knowledge of solar system
<br>planets, providing an empirical foundation to the nascent field of<br>"exo-planetology". Precise masses and radii are known for more than a<br>dozen transiting gas giants, some discovered by wide-field photometric
<br>monitoring, others by radial velocity surveys. For the brightest of<br>these, infrared emission from the planet itself could be detected at<br>several wavelengths with the Spitzer Space Telescope. The Corot<br>satellite, scheduled for launch shortly after CS14, is expected to
<br>discover dozens of transiting planets, possibly including ice giants<br>and rock giants.<br><br clear="all"><br><br>