Exoplanets Don't Like Heavy Metals

Studies of planetary systems have indicated that star systems with high metallicity (think iron - actually anything heavier than helium) may preferentially form planets,but a new survey suggests there are many compact, multiple-planet systems for which this trend does not hold. There could be many such compact systems that have been undetected until recently. The most common systems discovered have larger Jupiter or Neptune sized planets. A team at Yale University has conducted a survey of 700 stars and been able to find smaller panels with newer technology such as their Extreme Precision Spectrometer (EXPRES). This instrumentation enables discovery of the smaller planetary systems. Such low metallicity systems have formed early on in the history of the universe and have been in existence for quite a long time. So what are those planetary systems like?
Join Tony Darnell and Carol Christian during Afternoon Astronomy Coffee on November 8 at 3PM Eastern time as they discuss with the investigators John Michael Brewer and Songhu Wang (both from Yale University) about their survey and the intriguing relationship of metal content and the formation of planets.
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