Related papers: Procedures, Resources, and Selected Results of the…
We present an analysis of surveying the inner Solar System for objects that may pose some threat to the Earth. Most of the analysis is based on understanding the capability provided by Sentinel, a concept for an infrared space-based…
We begin the search for extremely-low mass ($M\leq0.3M_{\odot}$, ELM) white dwarfs (WDs) in the southern sky based on photometry from the VST ATLAS and SkyMapper surveys. We use a similar color-selection method as the Hypervelocity star…
Within ten years, the era of large-scale systematics surveys will decay thanks to a complete census of exoplanetary systems within 200 pc from the Sun. With the first Lights foreseen between 2024 and 2028, the new generation of extremely…
Located within 10 degrees of the North Pole, northern Ellesmere Island offers continuous darkness in the winter months. This capability can greatly enhance the detection efficiency of planetary transit surveys and other time domain…
We describe an initiative to build and use the Dark Energy Spectrometer (DESpec), a wide-field spectroscopic survey instrument for the Blanco 4 meter telescope at Cerro Tololo InterAmerican Observatory (CTIO) in Chile. A new system with…
The serendipitous detection of stellar occultations by Outer Solar System objects is a powerful method for ascertaining the small end ($r \lesssim 15$ km) of the size distribution of Kuiper Belt Objects and may potentially allow the…
The Phoenix Deep Survey is a multi-wavelength galaxy survey based on deep 1.4 GHz radio imaging (Hopkins et al., 2003). The primary goal of this survey is to investigate the properties of star formation in galaxies and to trace the…
Experience in exploring our own solar system has shown that direct investigation of planetary bodies using space probes invariably yields scientific knowledge not otherwise obtainable. In the case of exoplanets, such direct investigation…
Compared with previous space-borne surveys, the Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS) provides a unique and new approach to observe Solar System objects. While its primary mission avoids the vicinity of the ecliptic plane by…
We present preliminary results from the 2-degree Field (2dF) QSO Redshift Survey currently under way at the Anglo-Australian Telescope. This survey aims to determine the redshifts of >25000 QSOs over a redshift range of 0.3<z<3.0 with the…
Recent and upcoming stabilized spectrographs are pushing the frontier for Doppler spectroscopy to detect and characterize low-mass planets. Specifications for these instruments are so impressive that intrinsic stellar variability is…
The search for habitable exoplanets and life beyond the Solar System is one of the most compelling scientific opportunities of our time. Nevertheless, the high cost of building facilities that can address this topic and the keen public…
We present a deep X-ray selected sample of galaxy clusters which has been created from a serendipitous search in ROSAT-PSPC deep pointed observations at high galactic latitude. This survey, hereafter known as the ROSAT Deep Cluster Survey…
SkyMapper is amongst the first of a new generation of dedicated, wide-field survey telescopes. The 1.3m SkyMapper telescope features a 5.7 square degree field-of-view Cassegrain imager and will see first light in late 2007. The primary goal…
Direct imaging surveys for exoplanets commonly exclude binary stars from their target lists, leaving a large part of the overall planet demography unexplored. To address this gap in our understanding of planet formation and evolution, we…
The Blanco Cosmology Survey is 4-band (griz) optical-imaging survey that covers ~80 square degrees of the southern sky. The survey consists of two fields roughly centered at (RA,DEC) = (23h,-55d) and (5h30m,-53d) with imaging designed to…
The discovery of extra-solar planets is arguably the most exciting development in astrophysics during the past 15 years, rivalled only by the detection of dark energy. Two projects unite the communities of exoplanet scientists and…
A transiting planet invites us to measure its size, mass, orbital parameters, atmospheric composition, and other characteristics. But the invitation can only be accepted if the host star is bright enough for precise measurements of its flux…
The best-characterized exoplanets to date are planets on close-in transiting orbits around their host stars. The high level of irradiation and transiting geometry of these objects make them ideal targets for atmospheric investigations.…
Direct detection, also known as direct imaging, is a method for discovering and characterizing the atmospheres of planets at intermediate and wide separations. It is the only means of obtaining spectra of non-transiting exoplanets.…