COROT (COnvection ROtation and planetary Transits) is a space mission approved and led by the French Space Agency (CNES) in conjunction with the European Space Agency. The primary objective of Corot will be to search for extra-solar planets, particularly those of large terrestrial size. It is due to be launched in June, 2006 and will be the first mission of its kind. The Centre National dÉtudes Spatiales is the French government space agency (administratively, a public establishment of industrial and commercial character). Its headquarters are located in central Paris. ... Jump to: navigation, search The European Space Agency (ESA), established in 1975, is an inter-governmental organisation dedicated to exploration of space with currently 17 member states. ... Infrared Image of a possible extrasolar planet (lower left) in the Constellation Taurus, taken by the Hubble Space Telescope. ... Jump to: navigation, search A Earths solar system has four terrestrial planets: Mercury, Venus, Earth and Mars. ...

Corot will consist of a 30 cm afocal telescope with an array of spectroscopic detectors. The satellite itself will be 668 kg, 4.1 metres long and 2.0 metres in diameter. It will be powered by two solar panels. Launched by a Russian rocket and enter into a circular polar orbit with an altitude of 827 km. Over its planned 2½ years mission it will observe perpendicular to its orbital plane meaning there will be no Earth occulations, allowing 150 days of continuous observing. During the northern Summer it will observe in an area around Serpens Cauda and during the Winter it will observe in Monoceros. Between this observing periods for 30 days, Corot will observe 5 other patches of the sky. Spectroscopy is the study of spectra, ie. ... A satellite in a polar orbit passes above or nearly above both poles of the planet (or other celestial body) on each revolution. ... Jump to: navigation, search Summer is a season, defined by convention in meteorology as the whole months of June, July, and August, in the Northern hemisphere, and the whole months of December, January, and February, in the Southern hemisphere. ... Serpens (the snake) is one of the 88 modern constellations, and was also one of the 48 listed by Ptolemy. ... Jump to: navigation, search In many parts of the world, winter is associated with snow. ... Monoceros (Latin for Unicorn) is a faint constellation on the winter night sky, surrounded by Orion to the west, Gemini to the north, Canis Major to the south and Hydra to the east. ...

The probe will monitor the brightness of stars, watching for the slight dimming that happens in regular intervals when planets transit their primary. Corot will be sensitive enough to detect rocky planets, though only those several times larger than Earth; it is also expected to discover new gas giants, which compromise almost all of the known extra-solar planets. Deimos transits the Sun, as seen by Mars Rover Opportunity on March 4, 2004 The word transit has two meanings in astronomy: A transit is the astronomical event that occurs when one celestial body appears to move across the face of another celestial body, as seen by an observer at...

Corot will also undertake asteroseismology. It will be able to detect starquakes that send ripples across a stars' surfaces, altering their luminosity. This phenomenon allows calculation of a star's precise mass, age and chemical composition and will aid in comparisons between the sun and other stars. Asteroseismology is the study of the internal structure of pulsating stars by the interpretation of their frequency spectra. ... For the computer game, see Starquake (game) For the novel by Robert L. Forward, see Starquake (book) A starquake is an astrophysical phenomenon when the crust of a neutron star undergoes a sudden adjustment, analogous to an earthquake on Earth. ... Jump to: navigation, search // In General Physics In general physics, luminosity (more properly called luminance) is the density of luminous intensity in a given direction. ... Jump to: navigation, search Mass is a property of physical objects that, roughly speaking, measures the amount of matter they contain. ...

In each field of view there will be one main target star for the asteroseismology as well as up to nine other targets. Simultaneously, it will be recording the brightness of 12,000 stars brighter than apparent magnitude 15.5 for the extrasolar planet study. It is expected that a few dozen planets will be found. The apparent magnitude (m) of a star, planet or other heavenly body is a measure of its apparent brightness; that is, the amount of light received from the object. ...

External links

• http://www.esa.int/esaSC/120372_index_0_m.html
• http://www.obspm.fr/encycl/corot.html
• http://www.cnes.fr/html/_455_465_3820_.php