PlanetPol
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PlanetPol
PlanetPol was a ground-based, high sensitivity polarimeter based at the William Herschel Telescope on the island of La Palma in the Canary Islands, Spain that has now been decommissioned. It was the most sensitive astronomical visual polarimeter ever built in fractional polarisation, a mantle that since its decommissioning now belongs to HIgh Precision Polarimetric Instrument (HIPPI), HIPPI. Although the device could be used for a wide range of astronomy, its primary use was the Methods of detecting extrasolar planets#Polarimetry, detection of extrasolar planets. Results PlanetPol did not discover any extrasolar planets, however it was used to provide upper limits to planetary albedos in the known 55 Cancri, 55 Cnc and Tau Boötis, τ Boo planetary systems. Observations with the polarimeter in the Canary Islands, which are affected by dust from the Sahara, also identified airborne dust as a source of polarization within our atmosphere. Additionally, PlanetPol provided measure ...
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Methods Of Detecting Extrasolar Planets
Any planet is an extremely faint light source compared to its parent star. For example, a star like the Sun is about a billion times as bright as the reflected light from any of the planets orbiting it. In addition to the intrinsic difficulty of detecting such a faint light source, the light from the parent star causes a glare that washes it out. For those reasons, very few of the exoplanets reported have been observed directly, with even fewer being resolved from their host star. Instead, astronomers have generally had to resort to indirect methods to detect extrasolar planets. As of 2016, several different indirect methods have yielded success. Established detection methods The following methods have at least once proved successful for discovering a new planet or detecting an already discovered planet: Radial velocity A star with a planet will move in its own small orbit in response to the planet's gravity. This leads to variations in the speed with which the star move ...
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William Herschel Telescope
The William Herschel Telescope (WHT) is a optical/near-infrared reflecting telescope located at the Roque de los Muchachos Observatory on the island of La Palma in the Canary Islands, Spain. The telescope, which is named after William Herschel, the discoverer of the planet Uranus, is part of the Isaac Newton Group of Telescopes. It is funded by research councils from the United Kingdom, the Netherlands and Spain. At the time of construction in 1987, the WHT was the third largest single optical telescope in the world.The BTA-6 (6.0 m) and Hale telescope (5.1 m) were both larger; the Multiple Mirror Telescope also had a larger collecting area but did not have a single primary mirror It is currently the second largest in Europe,The neighbouring Gran Telescopio Canarias (10.4 m) overtook the WHT in 2009 to become the largest in Europe and was the last telescope constructed by Grubb Parsons in their 150-year history. The WHT is equipped with a wide range of instrumen ...
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William Herschel Telescope Dome
William is a male given name of Germanic origin.Hanks, Hardcastle and Hodges, ''Oxford Dictionary of First Names'', Oxford University Press, 2nd edition, , p. 276. It became very popular in the English language after the Norman conquest of England in 1066,All Things William"Meaning & Origin of the Name"/ref> and remained so throughout the Middle Ages and into the modern era. It is sometimes abbreviated "Wm." Shortened familiar versions in English include Will, Wills, Willy, Willie, Bill, and Billy. A common Irish form is Liam. Scottish diminutives include Wull, Willie or Wullie (as in Oor Wullie or the play ''Douglas''). Female forms are Willa, Willemina, Wilma and Wilhelmina. Etymology William is related to the given name ''Wilhelm'' (cf. Proto-Germanic ᚹᛁᛚᛃᚨᚺᛖᛚᛗᚨᛉ, ''*Wiljahelmaz'' > German ''Wilhelm'' and Old Norse ᚢᛁᛚᛋᛅᚼᛅᛚᛘᛅᛋ, ''Vilhjálmr''). By regular sound changes, the native, inherited English form of the name shoul ...
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Polarimeter
A polarimeter is a scientific instrument used to measure the angle of rotation caused by passing polarized light through an optically active substance.Polarimeter
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Some chemical substances are optically active, and polarized (uni-directional) light will rotate either to the left (counter-clockwise) or right (clockwise) when passed through these substances. The amount by which the light is rotated is known as the angle of rotation. The direction (clockwise or counterclockwise) and magnitude of the rotation reveals information about the sample's chiral properties such as the relative concentration of

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La Palma
La Palma (, ), also known as ''La isla bonita'' () and officially San Miguel de La Palma, is the most north-westerly island of the Canary Islands, Spain. La Palma has an area of making it the fifth largest of the eight main Canary Islands. The total population at the end of 2020 was 85,840, of which 15,716 lived in the capital, Santa Cruz de La Palma and about 20,467 in Los Llanos de Aridane. Its highest mountain is the Roque de los Muchachos, at , being second among the peaks of the Canaries only to the peaks of the Teide massif on Tenerife. In 1815, the German geologist Leopold von Buch visited the Canary Islands. It was as a result of his visit to Tenerife, where he visited the Las Cañadas caldera, and then later to La Palma, where he visited the Taburiente caldera, that the Spanish word for cauldron or large cooking pot – "caldera" – was introduced into the geological vocabulary. In the center of the island is the Caldera de Taburiente National Park; one of four nation ...
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Canary Islands
The Canary Islands (; es, Canarias, ), also known informally as the Canaries, are a Spanish autonomous community and archipelago in the Atlantic Ocean, in Macaronesia. At their closest point to the African mainland, they are west of Morocco. They are the southernmost of the autonomous communities of Spain. The islands have a population of 2.2 million people and they are the most populous special territory of the European Union. The seven main islands are (from largest to smallest in area) Tenerife, Fuerteventura, Gran Canaria, Lanzarote, La Palma, La Gomera, and El Hierro. The archipelago includes many smaller islands and islets, including La Graciosa, Alegranza, Isla de Lobos, Montaña Clara, Roque del Oeste, and Roque del Este. It also includes a number of rocks, including those of Salmor, Fasnia, Bonanza, Garachico, and Anaga. In ancient times, the island chain was often referred to as "the Fortunate Isles". The Canary Islands are the southernmost region of Spain, and ...
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Spain
, image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , image_map = , map_caption = , image_map2 = , capital = Madrid , coordinates = , largest_city = Madrid , languages_type = Official language , languages = Spanish language, Spanish , ethnic_groups = , ethnic_groups_year = , ethnic_groups_ref = , religion = , religion_ref = , religion_year = 2020 , demonym = , government_type = Unitary state, Unitary Parliamentary system, parliamentary constitutional monarchy , leader_title1 = Monarchy of Spain, Monarch , leader_name1 = Felipe VI , leader_title2 = Prime Minister of Spain ...
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HIgh Precision Polarimetric Instrument (HIPPI)
High may refer to: Science and technology * Height * High (atmospheric), a high-pressure area * High (computability), a quality of a Turing degree, in computability theory * High (tectonics), in geology an area where relative tectonic uplift took or takes place * Substance intoxication, also known by the slang description "being high" * Sugar high, a misconception about the supposed psychological effects of sucrose Music Performers * High (musical group), a 1974–1990 Indian rock group * The High, an English rock band formed in 1989 Albums * ''High'' (The Blue Nile album) or the title song, 2004 * ''High'' (Flotsam and Jetsam album), 1997 * ''High'' (New Model Army album) or the title song, 2007 * ''High'' (Royal Headache album) or the title song, 2015 * ''High'' (EP), by Jarryd James, or the title song, 2016 Songs * "High" (Alison Wonderland song), 2018 * "High" (The Chainsmokers song), 2022 * "High" (The Cure song), 1992 * "High" (David Hallyday song), 1988 * ...
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55 Cancri
55 Cancri is a binary star system located 41 light-years away from the Sun in the zodiac constellation of Cancer. It has the Bayer designation Rho1 Cancri (ρ1 Cancri); ''55 Cancri'' is the Flamsteed designation (abbreviated 55 Cnc). The system consists of a K-type star (designated 55 Cancri A, also named Copernicus ) and a smaller red dwarf (55 Cancri B). , five extrasolar planets (designated 55 Cancri b, c, d, e and f; named Galileo, Brahe, Lipperhey, Janssen and Harriot, respectively) are known to orbit 55 Cancri A. Nomenclature 55 Cancri is the system's Flamsteed designation. It also bears the Bayer designation ρ1 Cancri ( Latinised to Rho1 Cancri) and the Bright Star Catalogue designation HR 3522. The two components are designated A and B, though component A is sometimes referred to simply as 55 Cancri. The first planet discovered orbiting 55 Cancri A was designated HR 3522b by its discoverers, though it is more commonly referred to as 55 ...
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Tau Boötis
Tau Boötis, Latinised from τ Boötis, is an F-type main-sequence star approximately 51 light-years away in the constellation of Boötes. It is a binary star system, with the secondary star being a red dwarf. As of 1999, an extrasolar planet has been confirmed to be orbiting the primary star. In December 2020, astronomers may have detected, for the first time, radio emissions from a planet beyond the Solar System. According to the researchers: "The signal is from the Tau Boötis system, which contains a binary star and an exoplanet. We make the case for an emission by the planet itself." Stellar components The system is a binary. The primary component is a yellow-white dwarf (spectral type F7 V) and secondary is a dim red dwarf (spectral type M2 V). The system is relatively nearby, distance being about 51 light-years. The primary star should be easily visible to the unaided eye under dark skies. The primary star, Tau Boötis A is a yellow-white dwa ...
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