Spring 2024 Pappalardo Fellowships in Physics Symposium - Juliana Garcia-Meja

Juliana García-Mejía
Pegasi b Fellow, 2023-2026; Pappalardo Fellow in Physics, 2026-2028
Astrophysics Observation, Instrumentation, and Experiment
“The Tierras Observatory: An Ultra-precise Time-series Photometer to Characterize Nearby Low-mass Stars and their Terrestrial Exoplanets”
Although the study of exoplanets has seen dramatic advances in the past decade, the analogs of many of the denizens of our solar system remain beyond the grasp of current observatories. For example, it is not known whether Mars and Mercury-sized worlds are common, and no extra-solar satellites or rings have been discovered to date.
Time-series photometry is a path to significant progress on these questions, but we are limited by the photometric precision of our observatories. The Tierras Observatory is a new ultra-precise, fully-automated photometer designed to further our understanding of terrestrial exoplanets, exo-satellites, and the variability of their host low-mass stars.
I begin this talk by summarizing the design features that enable Tierras to achieve its state-of-the-art, ground-based photometric precision. After overviewing the construction, commissioning, and first-light results of Tierras, I will describe our ongoing observing program and early science results.