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Astro-comb
Type of frequency comb From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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An astro-comb is a type of frequency comb used in observational astronomy to increase the accuracy of wavelength calibration in spectrographs.[1][2] The increased accuracy reduces systematic errors and enhances detection of small variations in stellar radial velocities caused by smaller orbiting exoplanets (e.g. Earth-mass planets), among other applications.[3][4] Astro-combs are distinguished from conventional frequency combs by their focus on high repetition frequencies (with mode spacings of ≥10 GHz).[5]
 | This article needs to be updated. (November 2010) |
A green astro-comb was installed in January 2013 in the high accuracy radial velocity planet searcher in the northern hemisphere (HARPS-N) spectrograph at the Telescopio Nazionale Galileo on the Canary Islands.[6] The device was developed by a team led by Chih-Hao Li of Harvard University. This astro-comb uses a pulsed laser to filter starlight before feeding the signal into a spectrograph. As of December 2016, it is gathering data from Venus to demonstrate its ability to discover exoplanets.[7]
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