Checking on the Neighbors: Searching for Planets around Alpha Centauri - TIME CHANGE

The alpha Centauri system - our next door neighbor in space - represents a very attractive target for exoplanet searches. Owing to its proximity, a planet found around any of the three stars in the system would be an ideal target for detailed follow-up studies with next generation ground- and space-based telescopes. In this talk Dr Endl will review past and current planet search efforts that targeted the alpha Centauri system. He will focus on his team's program, an intensive multi-year observing campaign carried out at Mt John University Observatory in New Zealand. He will describe the strategy, the challenges, and current results from this campaign.

Speaker: Michael Endl, University of Texas, Austin