================================================================================= "The ARCHIPELAGO search for planets" Dr. J. Gaidos University of Hawaii ================================================================================= When: Thursday, 15th of October of 2009 at 12:15 pm Where: 2nd Floor Seminar Room ================================================================================= Abstract: Four centuries ago the son of an Italian lutenist constructed the telescopes with which he would observe the Solar System and forever alter humanity's perception of its place in the Cosmos. Today, that perspective continues to change with the discovery of numerous planets around other Sun-like stars, primarily using the Doppler radial velocity and transit methods. There are numerous surveys to find more planets and I will describe one - ARCHIPELAGO - which is searching the nearest, low mass stars for planets with masses intermediate that of Earth and Neptune. We are screening a new catalog of more than 10,000 late K and early M star candidates within 50 parsecs to verify main sequence status, determine spectral type, estimate heavy element abundance, and assay chromosphere emission. We efficiently identify planet-hosting stars through three stages of Doppler measurements, while simultaneously increasing the cadence of automated photometry of stars passing those tests. Approximately 7% of our planets will transit their host stars, allowing us to simultaneously measure planetary mass and radius. =================================================================================