TITLE: "The EPOXI/EPOCh Investigation of Transiting Extrasolar
Planets"


SPEAKER: Dr. Drake Deming (NASA GSFC)

Monday 2009 March 30
2:00 pm Seminar (time may change)
NASA Ames Building N245 Room 215


ABSTRACT:

The Extrasolar Planet Observation and Characterization (EPOCh)
investigation is a component of the EPOXI mission, a Mission of
Opportunity for the Discovery program.  EPOCh used the CCD detector
on the Deep Impact flyby spacecraft to perform high precision
visible light photometry of several bright transiting planet systems
in 2008, during the cruise to comet Boethin.  During the January -
August period of EPOCh observations, EPOXI/EPOCh collected over
180,000 photometric quality images.  The transiting planet systems
observed include: HAT-P-4, TrES-2, TrES-3, XO-2, GJ436, WASP-3, and
HAT-P-7.  Each system was observed for 5 to 6 transits, as well as
secondary eclipses.  The Gliese 436 system was observed for over 20
days, and this time period corresponds to orbits in the habitable
zone of this M-dwarf star.  EPOCh also searched for direct transit
events caused by approximately Earth-sized planets, particularly
"hot Earths" that are predicted to be captured in low order mean
motion resonances with the giant planets.  EPOCh also performed
transit timing measurements for the giant planets, and searched for
timing variations due to terrestrial planet perturbers.  EPOCh also
observed the Earth-as-a-planet, characterizing its properties as an
astronomical object, so as to support future extrasolar terrestrial
planet imaging missions.  The Earth observations comprised
narrow-band visible filter images, and 2- to 5-micron infrared
spectroscopy, over a full Earth rotation, at three well-separated
dates.


BIOGRAPHY:

Dr. Deming is an Astrophysicist and the Head of the Planetary
Systems Branch at NASA GSFC. He is a very active observer of
exoplanets and pioneered the secondary eclipse exoplanet observation
technique with the Spitzer infrared space telescope.