NOAO > Observing Info > Approved Programs > 2009B-0120
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NOAO > Observing Info > Approved Programs > 2009B-0120 |
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PI: Sebastien Lepine, American Museum of Natural History, lepine@amnh.org
Address: Astrophysics, Central Park West at 79th street, New York, NY 10024, USA
CoI: Ian Neill Reid, Space Telescope Science Institute
CoI: Kelle Cruz, California Institute of Technology
Title: Completing the inventory of the nearest 20pc: spectral classification of 1,178 candidate nearby stars.
Abstract: An updated census of stars believed to be within 20 parsecs of the Sun, augmented by recent discoveries of high proper motion stars in the southern sky, reveals that ~1,200 nearby star candidates still lack spectroscopic data of any kind. We propose to obtain medium- resolution optical spectra of all these stellar neighbors to assign formal spectral types, refine distances, estimate metallicities, evaluate chromospheric activity, and look for signs of youth. This survey will provide the missing pieces to an all-sky spectroscopic catalog of nearby stars, now in preparation. The proper spectroscopic characterization of the ubiquitous K and M dwarfs in the immediate vicinity of the Sun will be critical in generating target lists for parallax programs and for surveys of exoplanets around low-mass stars.
National Optical Astronomy Observatory, 950 North Cherry Avenue, P.O. Box 26732, Tucson, Arizona 85726, Phone: (520) 318-8000, Fax: (520) 318-8360
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NOAO > Observing Info > Approved Programs > 2009B-0120 |
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