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| Alternative names | MPSP |
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| Coordinates | 29°00′54″S70°41′32″W / 29.015°S 70.6922°W /-29.015; -70.6922 |
TheMagellan Planet Search Program is a ground-based search for extrasolar planets that makes use of theradial velocity method. It began gathering data in December 2002 using the MIKEechelle spectrograph mounted on the6.5m Magellan II "Clay" telescope located within theLas Campanas Observatory inChile.[1][2]In 2010, the program began using the newly commissioned Planet Finder Spectrograph (PFS), an instrument purpose-built for precise radial velocity measurement.
The Magellan Planet Search uses a molecularIodine absorption cell to imprint a set of extremely well knownabsorption lines onto each stellar spectrum that act as a fiducial wavelength reference. In the early years of the program, MIKEspectra were collected with aresolving power, R, of about 65,000 and achieved velocity precision of several meters per second.[2] Using PFS, most spectra are collected with a resolving power of about 80,000 and velocity precision closer to one meter per second.
The program has surveyed approximately 500stars withspectral types ranging from F7 to M5. Stars included in the program were initially chosen to minimize overlap with two complementary surveys: theAnglo-Australian Planet Search (AAT) and theKeck Hi-Res planet search. The Magellan Planet Search[2] has discovered a number of extrasolar planets using MIKE data alone, PFS data alone, a combination of the two, and a combination of these and data collected using other telescopes and instruments. For example, an early announcement was made in January 2010 regarding the discovery of five long period, Jovian mass planets in eccentric orbits aroundG andK type dwarfs.[1][2][3]
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As of December 2013, the program had announced the following discoveries:
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