WASP-31b: a low-density planet transiting a metal-poor, late-F-type dwarf star We report the discovery of the low-density, transiting giant planet WASP-31b. The planet is 0.48 Jupiter masses and 1.55 Jupiter radii.It is in a 3.4-day orbit around a metal-poor, late-F-type, V = 11.7 dwarf star, which is a member of a common proper motion pair. Interms of its low density, WASP-31b is second only to WASP-17b, which is a more highly irradiated planet of similar mass. Accepted for A&A
Discovery and Mass Measurements of a Cold, 10 Earth Mass Planet and Its Host Star We present the discovery and mass measurement of the cold, low-mass planet MOA-2009-BLG-266Lb, performed with the gravitational microlensing method. This planet has a mass of mp = 10.4 ± 1.7 M⊕ and orbits a star of mass M sstarf = 0.56 ± 0.09 Msun at a semimajor axis of a = 3.2{+1.9\atop -0.5} AU and an orbital period of P = 7.6{+7.7\atop -1.5} yrs.2011ApJ...741...22M
Discovery and Mass Measurements of a Cold, 10 Earth Mass Planet and Its Host Star We present the discovery and mass measurement of the cold, low-mass planet MOA-2009-BLG-266Lb, performed with the gravitational microlensing method. This planet has a mass of mp = 10.4 ± 1.7 M⊕ and orbits a star of mass M sstarf = 0.56 ± 0.09 Msun at a semimajor axis of a = 3.2{+1.9\atop -0.5} AU and an orbital period of P = 7.6{+7.7\atop -1.5} yrs.2011ApJ...741...22M
Discovery and Mass Measurements of a Cold, 10 Earth Mass Planet and Its Host Star We present the discovery and mass measurement of the cold, low-mass planet MOA-2009-BLG-266Lb, performed with the gravitational microlensing method. This planet has a mass of mp = 10.4 ± 1.7 M⊕ and orbits a star of mass M sstarf = 0.56 ± 0.09 Msun at a semimajor axis of a = 3.2{+1.9\atop -0.5} AU and an orbital period of P = 7.6{+7.7\atop -1.5} yrs.2011ApJ...741...22M
Microlensing Binaries Discovered through High-magnification Channel Microlensing can provide a useful tool to probe binary distributions down to low-mass limits of binary companions. In this paper, we analyze the light curves of eight binary-lensing events detected through the channel of high-magnification events during the seasons from 2007 to 2010. The perturbations, which are confined near the peak of the light curves, can be easily distinguished from the central perturbations caused by planets.The Astrophysical Journal, Volume 746, Issue 2, article id. 127 (2012) http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2012ApJ...746..127S
Microlensing Binaries Discovered through High-magnification Channel Microlensing can provide a useful tool to probe binary distributions down to low-mass limits of binary companions. In this paper, we analyze the light curves of eight binary-lensing events detected through the channel of high-magnification events during the seasons from 2007 to 2010. The perturbations, which are confined near the peak of the light curves, can be easily distinguished from the central perturbations caused by planets.The Astrophysical Journal, Volume 746, Issue 2, article id. 127 (2012) http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2012ApJ...746..127S
Microlensing Binaries Discovered through High-magnification Channel Microlensing can provide a useful tool to probe binary distributions down to low-mass limits of binary companions. In this paper, we analyze the light curves of eight binary-lensing events detected through the channel of high-magnification events during the seasons from 2007 to 2010. The perturbations, which are confined near the peak of the light curves, can be easily distinguished from the central perturbations caused by planets.The Astrophysical Journal, Volume 746, Issue 2, article id. 127 (2012) http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2012ApJ...746..127S
The environments of local luminous infrared galaxies: star formation rates increase with density This work studies the environments and star formation (SF) relationships of local luminous infrared galaxies (LIRGs) in comparison to other types of local and distant (z ∼ 1) galaxies. The infrared (IR) galaxies are drawn from the IRAS sample. The density of the environment is quantified using Six degree Field (6dF) and Point Source Catalogue redshift survey (PSCz) galaxies in a cylinder of 2 h-1Mpc radius and 10 h-1Mpc length. Our most important result shows the existence of a dramatic density difference between local LIRGs and local non-LIRG IR galaxies. Tekola et al. 2012, MNRAS, 419, 1176
Light echoes reveal an unexpectedly cool η Carinae during its nineteenth-century Great Eruption η Carinae is one of the most massive binary stars in the Milky Way. It became the second-brightest star in our sky during its mid-nineteenth-century ‘Great Eruption’, but then faded from view (with only naked-eye estimates of brightness). Its eruption is unique in that it exceeded the Eddington luminosity limit for ten years.Nature 482, 375–378 (16 February 2012), doi:10.1038/nature10775
Astrophysics datamining in the classroom: Exploring real data with new software tools and robotic telescopes Within the efforts to bring frontline interactive astrophysics and astronomy to the classroom, the Hands on Universe (HOU) developed a set of exercises and platform using real data obtained by some of the most advanced ground and space observatories. The backbone of this endeavour is a new free software Web tool - Such a Lovely Software for Astronomy based on Image J (Salsa J). It is student-friendly and developed specifically for the HOU project and targets middle and high schools.Accepted for publication in American Journal of Physics
