A PhD position is available at Leiden Observatory for a research project on transiting extrasolar planets.
Since about a decade, a genuine revolution is unfolding in exoplanet research. Although direct detection is still extremely difficult, radial velocity techniques have been very successful in finding planetary systems, with more than 200 planets discovered to date. While these give great insights in orbital statistics, not much is being learned about the individual planets themselves. This situation is very different in the rare case that exoplanets transit their host star, revealing the planets’ sizes, masses and densities, and allowing studies of their atmospheres in the optical and near-infrared.
The PhD student will work on the forefront of extrasolar planet research, focusing on the detection and investigation of transiting planets, in particular studying their atmospheres and direct thermal emission using new innovative methods, and finding new transiting planets in current and forthcoming transit surveys. For this project we seek excellent and enthusiastic candidates, who are highly interested in observational astronomy.
The astronomy department at Leiden is internationally oriented and hosts about 30 graduate students of several nationalities. Further information about the department can be found at www.strw.leidenuniv.nl.
Applicants should contact Dr. Snellen at the address below for further information. Applicants should have, or soon obtain, a masters degree in astronomy or physics. Complete applications, including curriculum vitae, two letters of reference, and a letter explaining your interest in the project, should be sent by the 15st of August 2007 to:
Dr. I. Snellen,
Sterrewacht Leiden, PO Box 9512, 2300 RA Leiden, The Netherlands
email: snellen[at]strw[dot]leidenuniv[dot]nl;
tel: +31 71 527 5838;
fax: +31 71 527 5819
http://www.strw.leidenuniv.nl/~snellen
Since about a decade, a genuine revolution is unfolding in exoplanet research. Although direct detection is still extremely difficult, radial velocity techniques have been very successful in finding planetary systems, with more than 200 planets discovered to date. While these give great insights in orbital statistics, not much is being learned about the individual planets themselves. This situation is very different in the rare case that exoplanets transit their host star, revealing the planets’ sizes, masses and densities, and allowing studies of their atmospheres in the optical and near-infrared.
The PhD student will work on the forefront of extrasolar planet research, focusing on the detection and investigation of transiting planets, in particular studying their atmospheres and direct thermal emission using new innovative methods, and finding new transiting planets in current and forthcoming transit surveys. For this project we seek excellent and enthusiastic candidates, who are highly interested in observational astronomy.
The astronomy department at Leiden is internationally oriented and hosts about 30 graduate students of several nationalities. Further information about the department can be found at www.strw.leidenuniv.nl.
Applicants should contact Dr. Snellen at the address below for further information. Applicants should have, or soon obtain, a masters degree in astronomy or physics. Complete applications, including curriculum vitae, two letters of reference, and a letter explaining your interest in the project, should be sent by the 15st of August 2007 to:
Dr. I. Snellen,
Sterrewacht Leiden, PO Box 9512, 2300 RA Leiden, The Netherlands
email: snellen[at]strw[dot]leidenuniv[dot]nl;
tel: +31 71 527 5838;
fax: +31 71 527 5819
http://www.strw.leidenuniv.nl/~snellen
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