COROT
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| CoRoT | |
| Type of orbit: | Polar orbit |
|---|---|
| Orbit height: | 827km |
| Launched: | December 27, 2006 |
| Launch vehicle: | Soyuz 2.1b |
| Mass: | 630kg |
| Telescope style: | afocal |
| Diameter: | 27cm |
CoRoT (Convection Rotation and planetary Transits) is a space mission led by the French Space Agency (CNES) in conjunction with the European Space Agency and other international partners. The primary objective of CoRoT will be to search for extrasolar planets, particularly those of large terrestrial size. It was launched at 14:28 GMT on December 27, 2006, atop a Soyuz 2.1b carrier rocket.[1][2] and reported first light on January 18, 2007[3]. It is the first mission of its kind.
CoRoT consists of a 27 cm (10.6 inch) diameter afocal telescope with an array of spectroscopic detectors. The satellite has a launch mass of 630 kg, is 4.10 metres long, 1.984 metres in diameter and is powered by two solar panels [4]. A Russian rocket lifted the satellite into a circular polar orbit with an altitude of 827 km on 27 December 2006. Over its planned 2½ year mission it will observe perpendicular to its orbital plane, meaning there will be no Earth occultations, allowing 150 days of continuous observation. During the northern summer it will observe in an area around Serpens Cauda and during the winter it will observe in Monoceros. During the remaining 30 days between the two main observation periods, COROT will observe 5 other patches of sky.
The probe will monitor the brightness of stars, watching for the slight dimming that happens in regular intervals when planets transit their primary sun. COROT will be sensitive enough to detect rocky planets, though only those several times larger than Earth; it is also expected to discover new gas giants, which comprise almost all of the known extrasolar planets.
CoRoT will also undertake asteroseismology. It can detect luminosity variations associated with acoustic pulsations of stars. This phenomenon allows calculation of a star's precise mass, age and chemical composition and will aid in comparisons between the sun and other stars.
In each field of view there will be one main target star for the asteroseismology as well as up to nine other targets. Simultaneously, it will be recording the brightness of 120,000 stars brighter than apparent magnitude 15.5 for the extrasolar planet study. It is expected that a few dozen planets will be found as a result of this project.
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[edit] Potential
It should be noted that CoRoT will only be able to detect planets a few times to several times larger than Earth. It is not designed to detect habitable planets but the potential for habitability. Also, Corot should be assumed to only detect a small percentage of planets within its detection range due to the low percentage of existing planets that would likely make transits from the angle of observation. Expectations are that any planetary systems detected within a suitable range for further observations will be followed up by the future Darwin and TPF spacecrafts.
[edit] See also
- Kepler Space Observatory, another space mission to discover planets by transits.
[edit] References
- ^ http://smsc.cnes.fr/COROT/GP_actualite.htm
- ^ http://spaceflightnow.com/tracking/index.html
- ^ http://physicsweb.org/articles/news/11/1/13/1?rss=2.0
- ^ http://smsc.cnes.fr/COROT/GP_satellite.htm
