Bringing E.T. into Your Classroom The Search for Extra solar Planets

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Bringing E.T. into Your ClassroomThe Search for
Extra solar Planets

• Gary Lawhon
• Dave Baltenberger

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Nebular theory of solar system formation would
lead us to believe planets should be associated
with most stars

• .

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Why are these planets so hard to find?
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Planets are really small

• If the Sun is a grapefruit on the West coast of
  US
• then
• The Earth is a pinhead about 15 meters away and
  Jupiter is a marble 80 meters away
• and
• The nearest star to our solar system is on the
  East coast.so
• You are trying to find a pinhead on a grapefruit
  about 2500 miles away plus the star is a billion
  times brighter than its planets

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How can we find Extra solar Planets?

• Direct Detection
• Despite advances in technology it is beyond
  modern telescopes to find extrasolar planets very
  easily using direct detection

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How can we find Extra solar Planets?

• If we cant just find these extra solar planets
  in a telescope how do we know they exist?
• Indirect Evidence
• Measure properties of the star and reveal the
  presence of extra solar planets

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Does a Planet influence its Star?

• All objects in the solar system orbit a common
  center of mass
• Sun is so large that this center of mass is
  inside the Sun

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Center of Mass
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Orbiting planet causes its star to wobble
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Make Your Own Wobbling Sun
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Can We Detect Extrasolar Planets using other
Methods?

• Transit method A planet passing it front of its
  star produces a change in brightness of 1/10,000
  lasting for 2 to 16 hours
• Can we detect that?

Credit NASA
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Kepler mission

• The Kepler spacecraft lifted off March 6, 2009

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Kepler field of view
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http//archive.stsci.edu/prepds/kepler_hlsp/
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Excel graph from Kepler data
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http//lasp.colorado.edu/education/outerplanets/ex
oplanets.phpkepler
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http//astro.unl.edu/naap/esp/animations/transitSi
mulator.html
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http//kepler.nasa.gov/multimedia/Interactives/kep
lerFlashAdvDiscovery/
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planethunters.org
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Detecting Extra solar Planets

• Use star wobble to detect planets
• Wobbling star models
• Kepler looks for dimming of the star to detect
  presence of extra solar planet
• Use Kepler data to create Excel graphs to
  identify pattern of star dimming
• Use websites to recreate hunt for extra solar
  planets

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GPS Standards

• Astronomy SAST6 Students will explore
  connections between cosmic phenomena and
  conditions necessary for life.
• Physical Science - SPSP9 Students will
  investigate the properties of waves.
• f) Explain the Doppler Effect in terms of
  everyday interactions.
• (Doppler shift of spectral lines radial
  velocity)
• Biology SB1 Students will analyze the nature
  of relationships between structures and functions
  in living cells.
• d) Explain the impact of water on life
  processes.
• SB5 Students will evaluate the role of natural
  selection in the development of the theory of
  evolution.
• (concepts of what defines the habitable zone
  can be brought in here)

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GPS Standards

• Earth Systems SES1 Students will investigate
  the composition and formation of Earth systems,
  including Earths relationship to the solar
  system.
• (habitable zone)
• Chemistry
• SC3 Students will use modern atomic theory to
  explain the characteristics of atoms.
• f) Relate light emission and movement of
  electrons to element identification.
• (spectroscopy and detection by radial
  velocity/Doppler shift)
• SC4 Student will use the organization of the
  Periodic Table to predict properties of elements.
  
• b) Compare and contrast trends in the chemical
  and physical properties of elements and their
  placement on the Periodic Table.
• (concepts of Habitable Zone, carbon-based life
  vs. thoughts on silicon-based life. Also water
  vs. ammonia)

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GPS Standards

• Environmental Science SEV2 Students will
  demonstrate an understanding that the Earth is
  one interconnected system.
• a) Describe how the abiotic components (water,
  air, and energy) affect the biosphere.
• (Habitable Zone)

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Astronomy Themed Summer Workshops Chem.,
Physics, Phys. Sci. GPS

• High School Teachers Only This Year
• Search for Life in the Universe
• Sun Earth Connection Space Weather
• Stars Formation of the Elements
• Crash, Bang, Galaxies!
• Email gears_at_colstate.edu for information
• http//cheller.phy.georgiasouthern.edu/gears

This workshop funded by NASA Office of Education
Grant NNX09AH83A and supported by the Georgia
Department of Education, Columbus State
University, and Georgia Southern University