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cover of episode How Do Astronomers Find Exoplanets? Wiggles!

How Do Astronomers Find Exoplanets? Wiggles!

2025/4/11
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Short Wave

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J
Josh Wynn
R
Regina Barber
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Josh Wynn: 我是普林斯顿大学的天文学家,也是一名系外行星猎人。我们通过行星对恒星的引力作用找到系外行星。行星的引力会使恒星轻微摆动,但过去我们无法直接观测到恒星的摆动,因为望远镜不够灵敏。过去我们主要使用凌日法和多普勒法两种方法发现系外行星。凌日法需要特殊的巧合才能观测到,因此遗漏了大部分行星。多普勒法通过探测恒星的运动来发现行星,多普勒效应是由于波源相对于观察者运动而产生的。新的测星法通过测量恒星在天空中位置的变化来发现行星,它直接测量恒星在天球上的坐标,更擅长寻找距离恒星较远的行星。恒星距离行星越远,其轨道就越大,更容易被测星法观测到。盖亚望远镜的高精度测量使得测星法成为可能。我们通过盖亚望远镜提供的候选恒星列表,结合多普勒法来确认系外行星。盖亚望远镜提供的许多候选恒星并非系外行星。我们发现的系外行星Gaia 4b质量很大,类似于超级木星。盖亚望远镜的数据分析将带来更多系外行星的发现。测星法能帮助我们更完整地了解系外行星系统,我们需要更多的数据来了解系外行星系统的规律。研究更多的系外行星系统有助于我们更好地理解行星系统的规律。 Regina Barber: 系外行星的发现正进入一个新的阶段,未来几年将发现更多不同类型的系外行星。盖亚望远镜的高精度测量使得我们可以观测到恒星的摆动,从而发现系外行星。

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This chapter explores the history of exoplanet discovery, focusing on two primary methods: the transit method, which relies on observing planetary transits across stars, and the Doppler method, which detects stellar motion caused by orbiting planets. The limitations of each method are also discussed.
  • Transit method: detects planets by observing dips in starlight caused by planetary transits
  • Doppler method: detects planets by measuring the slight wobble of a star caused by orbiting planets
  • Limitations: Transit method requires a precise alignment, while the Doppler method is more effective for planets closer to their stars

Shownotes Transcript

Dune. Star Wars. Alien. Science fiction movies love alien worlds, and so do we. But how do scientists find planets outside our solar system in real life? One way is by looking for the stars that wiggle. Historically, astronomers have measured those wiggles via the Doppler method, carefully analyzing how the star's light shifts. Thanks to new data from the GAIA telescope, scientists have a much better picture of distant stars' wiggles — and the exoplanets that cause them.*Want to hear more about exoplanet discoveries? Send us an email at [email protected]). Listen to every episode of Short Wave sponsor-free and support our work at NPR by signing up for Short Wave+ at plus.npr.org/shortwave).*Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices)NPR Privacy Policy)