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03 November 2024 |
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Article overview
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Discovery of a Very Bright, Nearby Gravitational Microlensing Event | B. Scott Gaudi
; Joseph Patterson
; David S. Spiegel
; Thomas Krajci
; R. Koff
; G. Pojmanski
; Subo Dong
; Andrew Gould
; Jose L. Prieto
; Cullen H. Blake
; Peter W. A. Roming
; David P. Bennett
; Joshua S. Bloom
; David Boyd
; Pierre de Ponthiere
; N. Mirabal
; Christopher W. Morgan
; Ronald R. Remillard
; T. Vanmunster
; R. Mark Wagner
; Linda C. Watson
; | Date: |
7 Mar 2007 | Abstract: | We report the serendipitous detection of a very bright, very nearby microlensing event. In late October 2006, an otherwise unremarkable A0 star at a distance ~1 kpc (GSC 3656-1328) brightened achromatically by a factor of nearly 40 over the span of several days and then decayed in an apparently symmetrical way. We present a light curve of the event based on optical photometry from the Center for Backyard Astrophysics and the All Sky Automatic Survey, as well as near-infrared photometry from the Peters Automated Infrared Imaging Telescope. This light curve is well-fit by a generic microlensing model. We also report optical spectra, and Swift X-ray and UV observations that are consistent with the microlensing interpretation. We discuss and reject alternative explanations for this variability. The lens star is probably a low-mass star or brown dwarf, with a relatively high proper motion of >20 mas/yr, and may be visible using precise optical/infrared imaging taken several years from now. We demonstrate that a modest, all-sky survey telescope could detect ~10 such events per year, which would enable searches for very low-mass planetary companions to relatively nearby stars. | Source: | arXiv, astro-ph/0703125 | Services: | Forum | Review | PDF | Favorites |
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