LBT's Multi-Institution LEECH Survey Pays Dividends
Taking advantage of the unprecedented sensitivity of the Large Binocular Telescope in southeastern Arizona, an international team of astronomers has obtained the first results from the LEECH exoplanet imaging survey. The findings reveal new insights into the architecture and dynamics of HR8799, a "scaled-up" version of our solar system 130 light-years from Earth.
LEECH is led by Andrew Skemer, a Hubble Fellow at the UA/Steward, and uses the Large Binocular Telescope Interferometer, which was built at the University of Arizona by Professor Philip Hinz. By directly imaging extrasolar planets, LEECH will be able to characterize the atmospheres of gas-giant planets to determine their compositions, cloud structures and weather patterns. LEECH will also discover new planetary systems by being able to see planets that are closer to their host stars than previous surveys. LEECH will also search for new planetary systems around 200 stars by being able to see planets that are closer to their host stars than previous surveys could.
The press release can be found HERE and the AZ Star article can be found HERE
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