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SIM Newsletter
" F R I N G E S "
Space Interferometry Mission Newsletter
Number 46, December 15, 2008
CONTENTS
1. SIM Lite at the AAS Meeting in Long Beach
2. The new SIM Lite book
3. Exoplanet Program Scientist position at NASA HQ
1. SIM Lite at the AAS Meeting in Long Beach
You can learn about the science of SIM Lite at the AAS Meeting in Long Beach, CA, January 4-8, 2008. Visit our booth in the exhibit hall. We're part of the Exoplanet Exploration (formerly Navigator) Program exhibit. At the booth you can chat with project staff and scientists, and pick up information on SIM Lite's science program. Be sure to sign up for a copy of the new "SIM Lite book", which will be in press shortly (see item 2 below).
There will be oral and poster sessions featuring SIM Lite, most notably a poster session on the SIM Science Studies (more info in Newsletter 45):
- Oral Session 300. Extrasolar Planets, Substellar Companions I: SIM Lite Planet Searches (Monday, 10am)
- Oral Session 310. Extrasolar Planets, Substellar Companions II: Exoplanet Community Report (Monday 2pm)
- Poster Session 455. SIM Science Studies (Tuesday, all day)
- Poster Session 456. Space Interferometry Mission Lite (Tuesday, all day)
- Special Session 234. NASA's Exoplanet Exploration Program (Thursday, 10am) (more info on 'ExEP' in Newsletter 45)
And of course you will hear mention of SIM Lite in many other sessions: extrasolar planets; stellar evolution; stellar atmospheres; binary stellar systems; dark matter; galaxy formation; active galactic nuclei.
2. The new SIM Lite book
Want to find out more about the science of SIM Lite, including plans for a General Observer Program? The new SIM Lite Book, written for astronomers, but not presuming much familiarity with astrometry, is ideal. We published the first SIM book back in 2000, when the project was first getting underway. This second edition is a complete re-working, and it brings the science story and the success of the technology development program fully up to date.
How can you get a copy?
The book will be in press at the time of the AAS Meeting in Long Beach. At the SIM Lite exhibit, you can inspect a pre-publication copy and sign up (or leave a business card) for a copy to be mailed to you. Readers of this Newsletter can request a copy to be mailed to you. Just send an e-mail to Daryl Victor <Daryl.Victor@jpl.nasa.gov>; please include "Request for the new SIM Lite Book" in the subject line of your e-mail.
If you were to compare the two editions, you'd find quite a lot in common, as well as some significant changes. The core science programs are still there, for a very simple reason - the original science is just as important as it was when first proposed, and only astrometric observations by SIM Lite can accomplish it. Some areas, such as searches for Earth-like planets in habitable-zone orbits around sun-like stars, have become even more significant scientifically, as recent discoveries the exoplanet field continue to amaze. Key questions in stellar astrophysics, especially for rare or exotic objects, such as supergiants and X-ray binaries, remain unanswered. Dark Matter is an important area, as critical predictions of lambda cold dark matter yield predictions that SIM Lite is poised to answer.
Over the past several months, the SIM Science Team has been writing the science chapters of this book. They've engaged a wider set of community contributors who are experts in their science area, or in astrometry. The result is a book that shows a fresh assessment of the relevance of SIM Lite astrometry in the next decade.
Also updated is the instrument description of SIM Lite (which is simpler and cheaper than the original SIM, but almost as capable; Newsletter 42). There is a section on the SIM technology program, which was well underway in 2000, and was completed in 2005 following a series of external peer reviews.
The editing team at JPL has been turning the chapters into polished prose and illustrations in a consistent style. We expect the book to be available around the end of January.
3. Exoplanet Program Scientist position at NASA HQ
The Astrophysics Division at NASA HQ would like to draw your attention to an open position with the Exoplanet Exploration Program. This is a full-time permanent position as Program Scientist. More details available at 'usajobs.com':
http://jobsearch.usajobs.gov/ftva.asp?seeker=1=77917701
Application deadline is December 29. Please direct any questions about this position to the Program office at NASA headquarters.
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Steve Unwin, Editor stephen.unwin'at'jpl.nasa.gov
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