PLATO (spacecraft)
Encyclopedia
PLAnetary Transits and Oscillations of stars (PLATO) is a European Space Agency
-proposed space observatory
that will use a group of photometer
s to discover and characterize extrasolar planet
s of all sizes and kinds around cool dwarf (like our Sun) and subgiant stars. The satellite is planned to be launched in 2017 or 2018 on a Soyuz-Fregat rocket, to the Earth-Sun L2 Lagrangian point
.
It will differ from COROT
and Kepler in that it will study relatively bright stars (between magnitudes 8 and 11) making it easier to confirm discoveries using follow-up radial velocity
measurements. It will have a much larger field of view than the Kepler mission (which has 100 square degrees) allowing it to study a larger sample of stars. The different versions of the project plan to observe stars in a 1250-3600 deg2 area of the sky, thus tracking light curves of up to 260,000 cool dwarfs and subgiants (Kepler had 25,000 stars of these types).
European Space Agency
The European Space Agency , established in 1975, is an intergovernmental organisation dedicated to the exploration of space, currently with 18 member states...
-proposed space observatory
Space observatory
A space observatory is any instrument in outer space which is used for observation of distant planets, galaxies, and other outer space objects...
that will use a group of photometer
Photometer
In its widest sense, a photometer is an instrument for measuring light intensity or optical properties of solutions or surfaces. Photometers are used to measure:*Illuminance*Irradiance*Light absorption*Scattering of light*Reflection of light*Fluorescence...
s to discover and characterize extrasolar planet
Extrasolar planet
An extrasolar planet, or exoplanet, is a planet outside the Solar System. A total of such planets have been identified as of . It is now known that a substantial fraction of stars have planets, including perhaps half of all Sun-like stars...
s of all sizes and kinds around cool dwarf (like our Sun) and subgiant stars. The satellite is planned to be launched in 2017 or 2018 on a Soyuz-Fregat rocket, to the Earth-Sun L2 Lagrangian point
Lagrangian point
The Lagrangian points are the five positions in an orbital configuration where a small object affected only by gravity can theoretically be stationary relative to two larger objects...
.
It will differ from COROT
Corot
Corot may refer to:* Jean-Baptiste-Camille Corot, French landscape painter * COROT, a space mission with the dual aims of finding extrasolar planets and performing asteroseismology* COROT-7, a dwarf star in the Monoceros constellation...
and Kepler in that it will study relatively bright stars (between magnitudes 8 and 11) making it easier to confirm discoveries using follow-up radial velocity
Doppler spectroscopy
Doppler spectroscopy, also known as radial velocity measurement, is a spectroscopic method for finding extrasolar planets. It involves the observation of Doppler shifts in the spectrum of the star around which the planet orbits....
measurements. It will have a much larger field of view than the Kepler mission (which has 100 square degrees) allowing it to study a larger sample of stars. The different versions of the project plan to observe stars in a 1250-3600 deg2 area of the sky, thus tracking light curves of up to 260,000 cool dwarfs and subgiants (Kepler had 25,000 stars of these types).