MAROON-X: M dwarf Advanced Radial velocity Observer Of Neighboring eXoplanets
First light in the lab September 2016
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We are building a new instrument with the capability to detect Earth-size planets in the habitable zones of mid- to late-M dwarfs using the radial velocity method. The instrument will be a high-resolution, bench-mounted spectrograph capable of delivering 1 m/s radial velocity precision for M dwarfs down to and beyond V = 16. It will be installed on the Gemini North telescope located on Mauna Kea in Hawaii in early 2019. The capability that this instrument will have is well beyond the reach of any existing instrument. The anticipated uses for the instrument are to (1) conduct a radial velocity only survey for potentially habitable planets around nearby mid- to late-M dwarfs and (2) to confirm and measure the masses of low-mass planet candidates identified in the habitable zones of M dwarfs by ground- and space-based transit surveys. These latter objects will be the best objects for future atmospheric studies of potentially habitable planets.

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