Trigonometric Parallax Measurements from the MEarth Survey
Abstract
The MEarth Survey is a northern hemisphere transit survey observing 2000 of the closest, high proper motion mid-to-late M Dwarfs at a typical cadence of 20 minutes cadence in an effort to detect small rocky type planets whose atmospheres are readily accessible for study with today's instrumentation. For a subset of the target sample, we have already obtained more than a hundred images per target and a baseline of a year or more. Due to the proximity of the target stars and the large amount of data, the MEarth data set lends itself well to astrometric studies. We have embarked on measuring the trigonometric parallax for all the stars in the MEarth survey. Of the 2000 stars targeted, only approximately 1/6 had previously measured parallaxes at the beginning of the survey. Using this subsample as a test of feasibility and the quality of our astrometry, we can reliably reproduce the previously observed parallaxes using the MEarth data. If we succeed in our quest to measure trigonometric parallaxes for all 2000 MEarth-North stars by the end of the survey, we will have refined considerably the map of the low mass stars in the solar neighborhood. The MEarth team gratefully acknowledges funding from the David and Lucile Packard Fellowship for Science and Engineering and the National Science Foundation under grant number AST- 0807690.
- Publication:
-
American Astronomical Society Meeting Abstracts #219
- Pub Date:
- January 2012
- Bibcode:
- 2012AAS...21934509D