The MEarth Project: An All Sky Survey of the Closest Low-mass Stars to Uncover the Very Best Terrestrial Exoplanets for Further Study

Harvard University, Cambridge MA

Investigators

Abstract

The MEarth Observatories are made up of two robotic telescope arrays that are designed to find Earth-like planets around smaller stars. Each array has 8 identical telescopes that are 40 cm wide and equipped with cameras. MEarth-North is located at Mt. Hopkins, Arizona, and MEarth-South is located at the Cerro Tololo Inter-American Observatory, Chile. This project consists of a 3-year survey using the MEarth arrays that will discover small exoplanets. The investigators expect to discover 6 planets with sizes close to the Earth's size and temperatures ranging from 300-600K. The investigators anticipate finding at least one of these planets located at a distance from its star where life similar to the Earth's life could survive. A second science goal of MEarth is to aid the study of stellar astrophysics with the large amount of data the project will collect. This project serves the national interest by promoting our discovery and knowledge of planets beyond our Solar System that could harbor life. Undergraduate and graduate students, and post-doctorate scientists, will be part of the MEarth science project. The principal investigator also works with Harvard's Future Faculty Leaders program and the Banneker Institute. This project aims to improve our understanding of small exoplanets by identifying the optimal transiting examples of these exoplanets through a 3-year, all-sky survey of the closest low-mass stars using the dedicated MEarth Observatories. The MEarth Observatories consists of two robotic telescope arrays, each array having 8 40-cm charge-coupled device detector-equipped telescopes. MEarth-North is located at Mt. Hopkins, Arizona, and MEarth-South is located at the Cerro Tololo Inter-American Observatory, Chile. Owing to the planets' proximities to their host stars, and their small sizes, the investigators will be able to obtain precise limits on the densities of these exoplanets. They will also study the exoplanets' atmospheres through spectroscopy of the starlight that the atmospheres transmit. Six planets are predicted to be discovered during this 3-year survey, with radii between 1.0-2.5x Earth's radius and temperatures from 300-600K, with the expectation of at least one planet in the habitable zone. The secondary science goal of MEarth is to advance the study of stellar astrophysics. Undergraduate and graduate students, and post-doctorate scientists, will participate in the MEarth science project. The principal investigator also participates in Harvard's Future Faculty Leaders program and the Banneker Institute.