CoRoT Results

Discovery paper is available at exoplanet.eu here. The RV set used for the analysis there consists of only 2 datapoints, so the stuff we had the embargo flap about earlier is NOT discussed.

It seems CoRoT's mission has been extended unto Jan 2010. I can't find anything official regarding that, but have read it numerous times, and it is rather apparent that it is still working.

The spin-orbit angle of CoRoT-1: evidence for a strongly misaligned hot Jupiter
http://arxiv.org/abs/0908.3032

Abstract wrote:

We measure the angle between the planetary orbit and the stellar rotation axis in the transiting planetary system CoRoT-1, with HIRES/Keck and HARPS radial-velocity spectroscopy, and FORS/VLT high-accuracy photometry. The data indicate a highly tilted system, with a projected spin-orbit angle lambda = 77 +- 11 degrees (systematic uncertainties in the radial velocity data could cause the actual error to be larger).
Spin-orbit alignment has now been measured in a dozen extra-solar planetary systems, and several shown strong misalignment. The first three misaligned planets were all much more massive than Jupiter and followed eccentric orbits. CoRoT-1, however, is a jovian-mass close-in planet on a circular orbit. The high occurence of misaligned systems for several types of planets and orbits favours planet-planet scattering as a mechanism to bring gas giants on very close orbits. Our extensive radial-velocity monitoring of CoRoT-1 excludes the presence of another gas giant planet in the system out to about 2 AU.

Well there goes the idea that it is only the eccentric super-Jupiters that exhibit strong misalignments...

http://www.newton.ac.uk/programmes/DDP/seminars/082015304.html

Quote :

Abstract
The CoRoT mission was launched into space on the 27:th of December of 2006 and have carried out scientific measurements since mid-February of 2007. Over 45 000 light curves with lengths of between 22 and 155 days have been obtained with a dutycycle of over 95% have been obtained and a large number are already to be found on the public server of the CoRoT mission. So far 12 planets have been discovered and further studied (of which for 7 the first results have been published). Several of these objects have very interesting characteristics. The most spectacular find is designated 7b and is the first proven terrestrial type ('rocky') planet found outside the solar system. This is because we have measured both a very precise radius as well as a well determined mass, proving that its average density is similar to the 'rocky'worlds found in our own system. As such this planet form the beginning of the study of worlds like our own in the Galaxy, as well as being the kind of object that the CoRoT mission was designed to find. Nevertheless, literally hundreds of exo-planetary candidates have been found and new ones are being added to the list for follow-up observations on almost a daily basis. The talk will discuss the confirmed planets, CoRoT-7b in particular and give a hint of things to come/

The question is what percentage of candidates are actually planets. As far as I am aware, the fraction is quite low.

Hot Jupiters are not the most common type of giant planet...

Are the slides for this talk available somewhere ? Any info on Corot-[8-12] ?

They would probably be embargoed if they exist.

The following article is interesting:

http://www.economist.com/sciencetechnology/displaystory.cfm?story_id=14209646

Nice catch, lodp!

Quote :

Dr Mayor described a system he has seen that has five rocky planets in it. They have masses of 11, 14, 26, 27 and 76 times that of the Earth. He concluded his talk by saying, “I am really confident that we have an Earth-like planet coming in the next two years.”

Though only one of those, to me, seems rocky (let's hope that the author just forgot to put some periods between each number's digits) this is pretty nice. Five planet system of all sub-Jovians?? No wonder the HARPS results are taking ages. But that's Off Topic.

It was this bit that caught my eye first!

Quote :

Dr Mayor told the meeting that the French mission, CoRoT, has now found 80 exoplanets.

I wonder if those are 80 exoplanets, or exoplanet candidates. Not to say that Dr. Mayor doesn't know what he's talking about, but rather, than a journalist may not know the difference well enough to include that c-word.

This bit, too, is astounding (if true).

Quote :

The planets discovered so far by CoRoT typically have a mass that is less than 30 times that of Earth, making them likely to have a solid, rocky surface. But they also orbit their stars rapidly, typically taking two or three months, rather than a year, to do so.(gaseous).

Sirius_Alpha wrote:

Nice catch, lodp!

Quote :

Dr Mayor described a system he has seen that has five rocky planets in it. They have masses of 11, 14, 26, 27 and 76 times that of the Earth. He concluded his talk by saying, “I am really confident that we have an Earth-like planet coming in the next two years.”

Though only one of those, to me, seems rocky (let's hope that the author just forgot to put some periods between each number's digits) this is pretty nice. Five planet system of all sub-Jovians?? No wonder the HARPS results are taking ages. But that's Off Topic.

The question is how many of the 5 have been spotted in transit, and are thus able to have structure determinations, as opposed to being spotted by RV followup.

COROT-5 coordinates are on Extrasolar Planets Encyclopaedia.

SIMBAD search for these coordinates suggests the host star is DENIS-P J064506.5+004855=2MASS J06450653+0048548=USNO-B1.0 0908-00103649

There is just Corot-6 left to be released now.
Also brand-new planetary candidates, of course.

Curiously I've found this article on WikiPedia where Corot-6 coordinates are given!

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/COROT-6

The host star would be located in Aquila alike Corot-3.

Those coordinates for CoRoT-6 are pretty vague, and I'm assuming they just correspond to the LRc02 field of view.
Edit: The coordinates given for CoRoT-6 at the Wikipedia page are from this pdf.

Good to see that CoRoT-5's coordinates are released though!

CoRot-7c alas not transiting though:

http://www.aanda.org/index.php?option=article&access=standard&Itemid=129&url=/articles/aa/pdf/forth/aa13096-09.pdf

Gwaah!!

But I remember there could be yet another one.

Seriously, here we see interesting new informations: Corot-7 b's mass is significantly lower than previous inferred value of 22 Me.
Now it is roughly a 5 Earth mass planet with density of 5.6 g/cc, quite similar to that of out homeworld.

And now here we have radial velocity sets too.

On EPE too:

http://exoplanet.eu/star.php?st=CoRoT-7

So that makes for a total of 3 known multiplanet systems with at least one transiting planet... hopefully more to come!

Is there any observation of this system by Spitzer scheduled in that space telescope "warm season"?

Lazarus wrote:

So that makes for a total of 3 known multiplanet systems with at least one transiting planet... hopefully more to come!

HAT-P-12 HAT-P-13, CoRoT-7, and what else?

Sirius_Alpha should that have said Hat-P-13, CoRoT-7, and what else?

lodp wrote:

Sirius_Alpha should that have said Hat-P-13, CoRoT-7, and what else?

D'OH! Thanks, corrected

Sirius_Alpha wrote:

Lazarus wrote:

So that makes for a total of 3 known multiplanet systems with at least one transiting planet... hopefully more to come!

HAT-P-12 HAT-P-13, CoRoT-7, and what else?

Bear in mind that the first known transiting planets were not hot Jupiters.




I believe these two planets were known to transit long before the discovery of the transits of HD 209458b. They are also definitely located in a multi-planet system.

http://www.eso.org/public/outreach/press-rel/pr-2009/pr-33-09.html

More info on COROT 7B.

Surface temperature is 2000 degrees day side and -200 night side.

No atmosphere at all which seems surprising.

So close in it seems a comfortable atmosphere like ours may be unlikely.

"..boiling oceans on the surface.."

RV data by WASP