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| Paper: |
Eclipses and Planetary Transits |
| Volume: |
370, Solar and Stellar Physics Through Eclipses |
| Page: |
13 |
| Authors: |
Gimenez, A. |
| Abstract: |
Eclipses of the Sun by the Moon have provided for centuries a powerful tool to understand our local Universe. Transits of the planets Mercury and Venus, as well as the occultation of the Galilean satellites by Jupiter, have delivered additional important scientific information to astronomers in the past. Furthermore, the mutual eclipses shown by some stars in binary systems have allowed for independent and direct measurements of stellar radii and masses, as well as distances, even beyond our own Galaxy. More recently, the discovery of extra-solar planetary transits has opened the possibility to measure the sizes and mean densities of these low-mass objects orbiting around other stars. The extension of techniques developed for the analysis of eclipsing binaries to extrasolar planetary transits is presented leading to accurate masses and radii of both the planet and the host star. |
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