Fakultät für Physik und Astronomie
STEPHEN PHILLIPS hostreviews.co.uk / UNSPLASH

Space-Based Microlensing: From Planets to Black Holes

Andrew Gould , Ohio State, USA & MPIA Heidelberg

Space-based microlensing was first proposed 50 years ago as means to measure the "microlens parallax" effect and so derive the distances to the lenses, which are usually unseen. However, it is only in the last 2 years that this idea has been implemented, first using Spitzer and then Kepler, with the aims of measuring the Galactic distribution of planets and measuring the properties of free floating planets, respectively. These campaigns have required radically new approaches to space-based observations and have already led to surprising discoveries unrelated to planets. Preparations are well under way for WFIRST, which will be roughly 25% devoted to microlensing. WFIRST will revolutionize our understanding of planets. Even though it is 100 times closer to Earth than Spitzer and Kepler, it will still yield microlens parallaxes. Using the subtle effects of astrometric microlensing, WFIRST will provide the first census of isolated black holes as well.

Heidelberg Joint Astronomical Colloquium
14 Jun 2016, 17:15
Philosophenweg 12, großer Hörsaal

Add to calendar Add to calendar