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Corot dévoile sa moisson d’exoplanètes et d’étoiles

3 février 2009

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COROT, due for launch in late 2006, will be the first spacecraft devoted to the search for rocky planets, similar to our own Earth. It will look for the tiny drop in light caused by a planet as it slips across the face of its parent star.

COROT is a CNES mission with ESA participation.

Credits: CNES/D.Ducros

Deux cents transits planétaires à vérifier

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The planet passes in front of the parent star

As the planet passes in front of its parent star, the brightness of the star decreases.

Figure based on image by Hans Deeg, from ' Transits of extrasolar planets'.

Credits: Hans Deeg

Une première « Super Terre »

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Artist's impression of exoplanet around a star

Credits: ESA 2003. Illustration by AOES Medialab

Mystères au cœur des étoiles

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When looking at stars, COROT is able to detect ‘starquakes’, acoustical waves generated deep inside a star that send ripples across a star’s surface, altering its brightness. The exact nature of the ripples can allow astronomers to calculate the star's mass, age and even chemical composition.

This technique is known as asteroseismology and ESA’s Solar and Heliospheric Observatory (SOHO) has been taking similar observations of the Sun for years.

Credits: CNES

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