Dr. David Bennett
Notre Dame

University of Florida Astronomy Colloquium - Apr. 9th, 2008

Extrasolar Planets as a Blemish in Einstein's Telescope: the Gravitational Microlensing Method

While the gravitational microlensing method has only found a handful of planets to date, it is uniquely sensitive to low mass planets in outer orbits, and will likely be the first method to find an Earth-mass planet orbiting a normal star. I review the recent planetary microlensing discoveries, and discuss what to expect in the future.