Calling All Exoplanet Hunters….

June 27, 2008 / Written by: Linda Billings

Extrasolar planet (exoplanet) discoveries are on the rise, to the point where it is a challenge to keep up with new findings. Those who are interested in keeping up with exoplanet discoveries can turn to free public databases maintained by NASA and other organizations.

The NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory’s PlanetQuest Web site keeps a tally of exoplanet discoveries (as of June 27, 2008: 303 exoplanets, 259 stars with planets, 0 Earthlike planets). PlanetQuest also offers a New Worlds Atlas (“a visual guide to exoplanets”), information on exoplanet missions, and a tool for tracking exoplanet discoveries that can be installed on a Mac or PC desktop.

The California Institute of Technology’s Michelson Science Center (MSC) and Infrared Processing & Analysis Center Infrared Processing and Analysis Center (IPAC) maintain a NASA/IPAC/MSC Star and Exoplanet Database (NStED). This database is designed to assist NASA planet finding and characterization activities by archiving data on exoplanets and potential host stars, facilitating scientific exploitation of these data, and supporting target selection and science planning for future exoplanet observations.

Finally, Jean Schneider of the Laboratoire de l’Univers et ses Theories at the Observatoire de Paris-Meudon (the Paris Observatory) maintains an online Extrasolar Planet Encyclopedia that providing detailed information on exoplanet discoveries.

Happy trails!

Jun 30, 2008

jane said:

very interesting

Jun 30, 2008

metapsyche said:

Horray!