Astronomers also look at high redshift galaxies, which are quite far away from Earth and are early in their evolution.Īnother research direction is examining supernovae to see why stars explode and what types are more prone to exploding.
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The scientists examine older stars that are at different phases in their evolution, looking for similarities and differences. The ultimate goal of extrasolar planet search is to discover a solar system similar to our own, with Earth-like planets that may support life," the Lick site states.Īdditionally, Lick astronomers are looking at stars to see how elements are created - particularly, how stars evolve to create metals and other elements. As technology improves, smaller planets will be discovered more frequently. "Many Jupiter-size and Saturn-size planets have been discovered. This is done using the Shane reflector telescope and the Hamilton spectrograph, as well as a newly built Automated Planet Finder. Lick's extrasolar planet search involves monitoring about 1,000 stars that are close to the sun's age, temperature and luminosity (intrinsic brightness), Lick states. Lick bills itself as the "first permanently occupied mountaintop observatory in the world," and currently houses several telescopes. This led astronomers to choose a mountaintop site instead for the new observatory. Most telescopes of the era were built in cities, but astronomers were rapidly meeting with disadvantages as light pollution became more prevalent.
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Officials elected to use a refractor at first (only adding a reflector in later years). The board debated whether to use a refracting telescope (which focuses light with lenses) or a reflecting telescope (which uses mirrors instead), but at the time, reflectors were just coming on the scene.