View source for Astronomy:Project 1640

'''Project 1640''' is a high contrast imaging project at [[Organization:Palomar Observatory|Palomar Observatory]]. It seeks to image brown dwarfs and Jupiter-sized planets around nearby stars.<ref name="Project 1640">{{Cite journal |last1=Crepp |first1=Justin R. |last2=Pueyo |first2=Laurent |last3=Brenner |first3=Douglas |last4=Oppenheimer |first4=Ben R. |last5=Zimmerman |first5=Neil |last6=Hinkley |first6=Sasha |last7=Parry |first7=Ian |last8=King |first8=David |last9=Vasisht |first9=Gautam |last10=Beichman |first10=Charles |last11=Hillenbrand |first11=Lynne |last12=Dekany |first12=Richard |last13=Shao |first13=Mike |last14=Burruss |first14=Rick |last15=Roberts |first15=Lewis C. |title=Speckle Suppression with the Project 1640 Integral Field Spectrograph |date=2011-02-18 |url=https://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.1088/0004-637X/729/2/132 |journal=The Astrophysical Journal |language=en |volume=729 |issue=2 |pages=132 |doi=10.1088/0004-637x/729/2/132 |arxiv=1012.4016 |bibcode=2011ApJ...729..132C |s2cid=35264912 |issn=0004-637X}}</ref> Rebecca Oppenheimer, associate curator and chair of the Astrophysics Department at the [[Biology:American Museum of Natural History|American Museum of Natural History]], is the principal investigator for the project.<ref name="Project 1640 Conducts First Remote Reconnaissance of Another Solar System ">
{{cite news | url=http://www.amnh.org/explore/news-blogs/research-posts/project-1640-conducts-first-remote-reconnaissance-of-another-solar-system
 | title=Project 1640 Conducts First Remote Reconnaissance of Another Solar System
 | work=American Museum of Natural History 
 | date=March 10, 2013 | access-date=April 1, 2013}}</ref>

== Instruments ==
The two main instruments behind Project 1640 is an [[Astronomy:Integral field spectrograph|Integral field spectrograph]] (IFS) and an Apodized-pupil Lyot [[Astronomy:Coronagraph|coronagraph]] at the [[Astronomy:Hale Telescope|Hale Telescope]] at Palomar.<ref name="Project 1640" /> This instrument is the basis of a high-contrast imaging long-term observational program. The instrument uses the chromatic nature of the [[Engineering:Speckle noise|speckle noise]] to distinguish it from any true astrophysical companions, including software which increases sensitivity by 10-20 times.<ref name="Project 1640" /><ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Hinkley |first1=Sasha |last2=Oppenheimer |first2=Ben R. |last3=Zimmerman |first3=Neil |last4=Brenner |first4=Douglas |last5=Parry |first5=Ian R. |last6=Crepp |first6=Justin R. |last7=Vasisht |first7=Gautam |last8=Ligon |first8=Edgar |last9=King |first9=David |last10=Soummer |first10=Remi |last11=Sivaramakrishnan |first11=Anand |last12=Beichman |first12=Charles |last13=Shao |first13=Michael |last14=Roberts |first14=Jr |last15=Bouchez |first15=Antonin |year=2011 |title=A New High Contrast Imaging Program at Palomar Observatory |journal=Publications of the Astronomical Society of the Pacific |volume=123 |issue=899 |pages=74–86 |doi=10.1086/658163|arxiv=1012.0008 |bibcode=2011PASP..123...74H |s2cid=6053630 }}</ref> Such sensitivity can detect planets of several Jupiter masses. The spectrograph obtains 23 images across the [[Physics:J band (infrared)|J]] and [[Physics:H band (infrared)|H bands]] (1.06-1.78 µm), with a [[Physics:Spectral resolution|spectral resolution]] of 45. In approximately 2013, a Post-coronagraph Wave Front Calibration System was added. Its goal is to achieve a wave front irregularity of less than 10 nm.<ref name="Project 1640"/>

==Preliminary results==
On March 10, 2013, Project 1640 made its first remote imaging of another solar system. It imaged four red [[Astronomy:Exoplanet|exoplanet]]s orbiting the star HR8799, 128 light years away from Earth, determining the spectra for all four.<ref name=":0">{{Cite journal |last1=Oppenheimer |first1=B. R. |last2=Baranec |first2=C. |last3=Beichman |first3=C. |last4=Brenner |first4=D. |last5=Burruss |first5=R. |last6=Cady |first6=E. |last7=Crepp |first7=J. R. |last8=Dekany |first8=R. |last9=Fergus |first9=R. |last10=Hale |first10=D. |last11=Hillenbrand |first11=L. |last12=Hinkley |first12=S. |last13=Hogg |first13=David W. |last14=King |first14=D. |last15=Ligon |first15=E. R. |title=Reconnaissance of the Hr 8799 Exosolar System. I. Near-Infrared Spectroscopy |date=2013-04-10 |url=https://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.1088/0004-637X/768/1/24 |journal=The Astrophysical Journal |volume=768 |issue=1 |pages=24 |doi=10.1088/0004-637X/768/1/24 |arxiv=1303.2627 |bibcode=2013ApJ...768...24O |s2cid=7173368 |issn=0004-637X}}</ref> One significant result was the detection of a chemical abnormality. At normal temperatures, such as those surrounding the four exoplanets, [[Chemistry:Ammonia|ammonia]] and [[Chemistry:Methane|methane]] should both be present in significant amounts.<ref name=":0" /> However, the exoplanets have either [[Chemistry:Ammonia|ammonia]] or [[Chemistry:Methane|methane]] in abundance, while the other chemical is missing. Other chemicals such as [[Chemistry:Acetylene|acetylene]] (not previously detected on any exoplanet) may also be present. There is also a significant cloud cover on the planets.<ref name=":0" /><ref name="Project 1640 Conducts First Remote Reconnaissance of Another Solar System "/>

==References==
{{reflist}}

{{Exoplanet search projects}}

[[Category:Astronomical imaging]]
[[Category:Exoplanet search projects]]
[[Category:Infrared spectroscopy]]

{{Sourceattribution|Project 1640}}