K2 and the Microlensing Experiment

I gave a 2016 NASA Ames Director's Colloquium Series talk. This was a mix of Kepler, K2 and Campaign 9 microlensing.

Abstract:
The NASA Kepler mission was launched in 2009 with the goal of detecting planets orbiting other stars. The scientific impact of this mission has been almost without peer, fundamentally changing the picture we have of our place in the Galaxy. After four years the Kepler mission ended and the telescope was repurposed as the K2 mission in 2014. K2 has emerged as an unlikely jewel in NASA’s astrophysics portfolio, facilitating scientific discoveries in a wide array of astronomy subfields, including galaxies, supernovae, open clusters, active galactic nuclei, Solar System planets and exoplanets.

During the summer of 2016, the K2 mission is undertaking a unique science experiment. Microlensing events occur when stars and planets pass in front of a background star and bend its light revealing the hitherto undetected foreground body. Observing a patch of sky close to the Galactic center simultaneously from Earth and the Kepler spacecraft is allowing scientists to see different lensing patterns which stem from the minutely different angle that Earth and Kepler perceive the background star. The K2 microlensing experiment will yield new Jupiter-like planet detections as well as many short-timescale microlensing events, which are indicative of free-floating planets. The parallax measurements will allow for the direct measurement of the masses of and distances to the lensing systems.

Dr. Barclay will share the story of how scientists and engineers worked around the clock to salvage the mission after its reaction wheels malfunctioned, turning it into a highly successful mission that is revolutionizing many fields of astronomy. He will discuss his experiences working on the Kepler and K2 Missions searching for other Earths, and will highlight the latest results from the K2 microlensing experiment that will pave the way for NASA’s WFIRST mission.

https://www.nasa.gov/ames/ocs/2016-summer-series/thomas-Barclay/

Transcript

1. K2 and the Microlensing Experiment Tom Barclay NASA Ames Research Center July 5, 2016
2. NASA’s Kepler Mission: What fraction of stars in our galaxy harbor potentially habitable, earth-size planets?
3. Detecting Planets
5. Jupiter Earth
6. * *
7. * * March 6, 2009
8. Go into space far away from Earth May 2009 – May 2013
9. The Kepler Field of View May 2009 – May 2013
10. Detecting Planets Orbital Period Relative Size of Planet
11. Turning Pixels into Planets
12. Exoplanet Detections, 1995-2009 Radius Relative to Earth Orbital Period in days Earth Jupiter
13. Exoplanet Detections, 1995-2013 Radius Relative to Earth Orbital Period in days Earth Jupiter
14. Exoplanet Detections, 2015 Earth >2300 Confirmed >4600 Candidates
17. Stare at the same field continuously
18. Kepler Mechanical Failure Pointing requires 3 reaction wheels (x,y,z axes) Kepler launched with 4 = End of Prime Mission Failure #1 in June 2012 Failure #2 in May 2013
20. The NASA K2 Mission Extending Kepler’s Legacy to the Ecliptic
21. K2 is an extended mission utilizing two reaction wheels + solar pressure to balance the Kepler spacecraft to control pointing What is K2?
22. Balancing Solar Pressure Top-down view
23. 30° 53° Balancing Solar Pressure Spacecraft must keep solar panel pointed at the sun. Limits time it can stare at a single field to 80-90 days (depending on the spacecraft orbital phase)
24. Each field is observed for approx. 80 days K2 Campaigns
25. Current Status Senior Review 2014 Senior Review 2016 Campaign 9 Supernova-focused
26. New Science in K2 The is no “K2 mission goal”, all science must be proposed by the community.
28. Giant Planets in the Solar System
29. Bodies in the Outer Solar System Pal, Szabó, Szabó et al. (2014)
30. The Pleiades
31. Photometry of the Seven Sisters The Pleiades
33. K2 is Still an Exoplanet Powerhouse We have two main focus areas Finding exoplanets amenable to radial velocity follow-up Detecting exoplanet orbiting nearby cool stars
34. Finding Exoplanet Targets for Followup
35. Finding Exoplanets Around Cool Stars
36. Finding Exoplanets Around Cool Stars
37. K2 Microlensing Experiment
38. What is Gravitational Microlensing? Lensing effect predicted by Einstein over 70 years ago Used to determine mass of foreground objects (galaxies, stars, etc.)
39. “The chance magnification of the light from a distant star by the distortion in spacetime due to the mass of a foreground star and its planets” Microlensing & the Hunt for Exoplanets
40. Microlensing! 40
41. 9 Microlensing Campaign 9 Spacecraft turned 180 degrees to point at Galactic Bulge
44. Bulge
45. 45 Exoplanet Demographics
46. Simultaneous Observations from Earth and Space Obtaining sufficient telescope resources was a key component to a successful campaign and our #1 risk
47. *513 Microlensing Events as of today
48. Preparation for WFIRST How many free-floating Earth-analogs will WFIRST detect? Free-floating Jupiter-analogs? K2 Microlensing experiment will provide early estimates Stay Tuned!
52. Extra Slides
54. Completing the Exoplanet Census
55. Early Demonstration *513 Microlensing Events from C9
56. K2 Microlensing Experiment artwork ©Jon Lomberg 2016
57. Finding Exoplanet Targets for Followup
58. Finding Exoplanet Targets for Followup
59. Finding Exoplanet Targets for Followup
60. WFIRST 60
61. Check keplerscience.arc.nasa.gov for updates
62. ‘Interesting’ targets in upcoming fields
63. ‘Interesting’ targets in upcoming fields 2040 M-type stars; 1270 RR Lyr Variables; 1219 Quasars; 727 High proper-motion stars 280 Mira Variables; 252 Young Stellar Objects; 167 Active Galactic Nuclei; 152 White Dwarfs (3 pulsating); 133 Herbig Haro Objects; 71 T Tauri Stars; 57 Brown Dwarfs; 29 Blue Stragglers; 18 O-type stars; 16 Cataclysmic Variables; 11 Symbiotic Stars; 4 Wolf Rayet stars; 1 FU Orionis variable.
64. Advocate for future fields - Positions of fields for Campaign 14-18 are not yet set - Contact us to advocate for changes • keplergo@mail.arc.nasa.gov • keplerscience.arc.nasa.gov
65. Photometric Performance Photometric performance from C3 onward is essentially the same as Kepler prime for bright stars Vanderburg et al. 2015, Ricker et al 2014, + Vanderburg, priv. comm. Yellow is K2 , blue is Kepler prime, black line is TESS predictions