|
Pathways satellite meeting on "Opportunities with SIM-Lite"
The "Opportunities with SIM-Lite" meeting is taking place during the international conference "Pathways Toward Habitable Planets" which is held in Barcelona (Spain) from 14 to 18 September 2009.
Date and time: Monday 14 September 2009 from 17:00 to 18:30
Location:Gamma Room in the CosmoCaixa science museum in Barceloan (Spain)
Organizers: Fabien Malbet (LAOG/CNRS) and Chas Beichman (NExScI/JPL)
Rationale:
SIM Lite, under consideration for launch within the next decade, is a versatile instrument for ultra-high precision astrometry - with applications in astrophysics and in discovery and characterization of exoplanets. Using two separated mirrors that combine light in an interferometer, SIM Lite will search nearby stars for planets as small as Earth, especially the ones located in the habitable zone. A growing interest is rising in the exoplanet community: a proposal has recently been submitted to the French space agency CNES to involve its community in this adventure. The Pathways conference is an opportunity to open the discussions on SIM-Lite opportunities with even a broader community. This satellite meeting is aimed at gathering anyone interested in taking part and/or collaborating in the SIM-Lite mission. Part of this session will be devoted to bringing the audience up to date on SIM-Lite technical, pragrammatic and scientific status and the other part will be open discussion concerning the various opportunities to contribute to the SIM-Lite exoplanet science.
The meeting will have the format of a round table with 10-min presentations and a large part of the time will be devoted to discussion.
Program:
17:00-17:10 Exoplanet science overview (M. Shao)
17:10-17:20 Planet finding Double-Blind tests (W. Traub)
17:20-17:30 General astrophysics and science opportunities (C. Beichman)
17:30-17:40 Proposition of a CNES participation (F. Malbet)
17:45-18:30 Discussion on additional opportunities for participation (chairman: A. Leger)
Participants: anyone interested
Contacts:
Fabien.Malbet@obs.ujf-grenoble.fr
chas@mail.jpl.nasa.gov
Useful links:
- SIM Webpage
- SIM Science book
- Pathways Conference
|
 |
