Tag: TNG

Four planets (at least) for two stars. The study: “The GAPS Programme at TNG. LIII. New insights on the peculiar XO-2 system” of A. Ruggieri (Università di Padova) appeared on A&A

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Every sci-fi enthusiast, especially Star Wars fans, has wondered whether planets orbiting two stars, like Tatooine, can exist in reality. This is actually an important question in astronomy: It has been estimated that in the Milky Way, one-third of low-mass stars are in binary systems. Therefore, to fully understand the population of planets in our Galaxy, it is necessary to

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Five molecular species found in the atmosphere of WASP-69b. The study: “The GAPS Programme at TNG. XXXVIII. Five molecules in the atmosphere of the warm giant planet WASP-69b detected at high spectral resolution” of G. Guilluy (INAF-OATo) recently appeared on A&A

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In recent years, advances in instrumentation, knowledge, and observational strategies in the field of exoplanets have allowed for the identification and confirmation of thousands of planets around other stars (exoplanets). Moreover, for the past few years, astronomers have been capable of studying the chemistry and physical properties of the atmospheres of some of these exotic worlds. These studies can also

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Howe many planets around M dwarf stars? The study: “HADES RV Programme with HARPS-N at TNG. XV. Planetary occurrence rates around early-M dwarfs” of M. Pinamonti (INAF-OATo) recently appeared on A&A

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M dwarf stars, with temperature ranging between 2400 and 3900 K and mass between 0.08 and 0.7 solar masses, are ideal targets for the search of exoplanets. This because the most important techniques to search for exoplanets are more effective when applied to stars of this spectral type than to more massive stars. For instance, the method of radial velocity

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A sub-Neptunian exoplanet around the star GJ 720 A. The study: “HADES RV Programme with HARPS-N at TNG XIII. A sub-Neptune around the M dwarf GJ 720 A” of E. González-Álvarez (CSIC-INTA) recently appeared on A&A

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About 19.3% of the 4001 exoplanets confirmed to date were discovered with the technique of the radial velocity (from https://exoplanets.nasa.gov/). This method consists in using time series of spectroscopic observations in order to measure the periodic oscillations of the position of stars due to the presence of orbiting exoplanets. In fact, in a planetary system both the planets and the

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A new super-Earth around an M star. The study: “HADES RV program with HARPS-N at the TNG. IX: A super-Earth around the M dwarf Gl 686” of L. Affer (INAF-OAPA) recently appeared on A&A

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Low mass star (in particular M-type star, with a mass between 0.075 and 0.5 solar masses) are typical targets for the search and study of exoplanets. In these stars, in fact, the radial velocity method is more efficient than in stars with higher mass. Radial velocity consists in detecting periodic oscillations in the stellar spectra due to the motion of

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A sub-Neptunian planet discovered around a G9 star. Published on MNRAS: “K2-263 b: a 50 d period sub-Neptune with a mass measurement using HARPS-N” of A. Mortier (University of St. Andrews)

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The search of exoplanets relies mainly on two techniques: transits and radial velocity. With the former method exoplanets are revealed thanks to small and periodic dimming of the light of stars when their planets orbit across the stellar disk, producing a small eclipse. The method of radial velocity consists in revealing the oscillations of stars around the center of mass

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June 2017 Research Highlights: GAPS project and the exoplanets science

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Exoplanets research has a wide appeal on the public and the scientific community. This mainly thanks to the results of successful missions such as CoRoT and Kepler, which allowed us to identify to date 3610 exoplanets, with more than 2000 candidates (link). However, the search for exoplanets is only part of this important branch of astrophysics, which faces several important questions still without answer:

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