2009/02/23 by Philip M. Hinz, Scott Kenyon, Scott J. Kenyon +9
Physics and Astronomy · #Astro and Planetary Science #Astronomical and nuclear sciences #Earth and Planetary Astrophysics (astro-ph.EP) #FOS: Physical sciences #Stellar, planetary, and galactic studies #astro-ph.EP
paper · pdf · doi:10.48550/arxiv.0902.3852
White paper submitted to the Astro2010 Decadal Survey PSF panel
arxiv created 2009/02/23 · openalex publication_date 2009/02/23 · arxiv updated 2009/12/01 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/28
The detection of lower mass planets now being reported via radial velocity and microlensing surveys suggests that they may be ubiquitous. If missions such as Kepler are able to confirm this, the detection and study of rocky planets via direct imaging with ground-based telescopes of apertures > 20 m is feasible in the thermal infrared. We discuss two cases for detecting rocky planets, the first via detection of molten Earths formed though an Earth-Moon like impact event, and the second via detection of planets around very nearby stars. These observations have the potential to give us a first look at a rocky planet similar to the Earth.