Thursday, March 15, 2018, 16:00
WHGA Auditorium
Willy Benz, Bern University
Abstract:
The CHaracterising ExOPlanet Satellite (CHEOPS) is a mission jointly led
by Switzerland and ESA which was selected in October 2012 as the first
small-class mission in the ESA Science Programme. CHEOPS will be the
first space observatory dedicated to search for transits of exoplanets
by means of ultrahigh precision photometry on bright stars already known
to host planets. This will allow a first order characterisation of the
planets' internal structure (i.e. the determination of the mean density,
which provides direct insights into its composition). CHEOPS will also
provide precise radii for new planets discovered by the next generation
of ground- and space-based transits surveys.