[Baps] MIT Thursday 2/22

[Prof. Richard P. Binzel]

Physics Colloquium Series at MIT
2/22/2007

Ben Oppenheimer, American Museum of Natural History

Comparative Exoplanetary Science

Numerous projects are on going to image exoplanets directly, permitting
spectroscopic and astrometric study of them at a level of detail never
before possible.  I will describe my instrumentation and observational work
in this area concentrating on the Lyot Project, the world's first optimized
coronagraph, and the Gemini Planet Imager, due for first light in December
2010.  Results include new portraits of circumstellar disks and a few
intriguing companions of nearby stars.

Time: 4:15pm
Place: Room 10-250
Refreshments will be served in the Physics Undergraduate Lounge (8-329) at
3:45pm

For a complete list of upcoming colloquia, please visit the Physics website:
http://web.mit.edu/physics/newsandevents/colloquia/spring2007.html