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Detection of an exoplanet: Radial velocity or Doppler method

by

Illustration Grégoire Cirade/Novapix

Reference

a-exo99-30081

Date

2009-07-16

An exoplanet orbiting a larger star could produce changes in position and velocity of the star as they orbit their common center of mass. Those variations in the radial velocity are known in studying the spectral lines of the star due to the Doppler effect (blue shift when the star is approaching, redshift when it is receding).