Simon O'Toole's home page
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Contact details
| Phone | : | +61 (0)2 9372 4856 |
| Email | : | otoole at aao.gov.au |
| Mail address | : | PO Box 296 |
| | Epping NSW 1710 |
| | Australia |
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I am the Australian Deputy Gemini Scientist currently working at the
Anglo-Australian Observatory as
part of the Australian Gemini
Office. In particular, I support
the Gemini
Multi-Object Spectrographs (GMOS) on two 8.2 Gemini telescopes.
My two main research interests are the detection of extra-solar
planets and the investigation of hot subdwarfs and pre-white dwarfs. I'm also
interested in the intersection of these two fields. You can find my published research papers here.
Click HERE for more details of my research.
In 2010 high school classes in Australia have a chance to use an hour
of observing time on one of the world's largest optical telescopes,
the 8-metre Gemini South telescope in the Andes Mountains of Chile.
How? By picking an object in the Southern sky and writing a winning
explanation of why it would be interesting to digitally
photograph. More information
can be found here. You can also join our Facebook group!
I am a member of
the The
Anglo-Australian Planet Search team. We are using
the University
College London Echelle Spectrograph (UCLES) on the AAT with an
iodine cell to obtain high-precision radial velocities of around 250
nearby Sun-like stars.
The SPADES project will search for circumbinary (or "P-type") planets
using the eclipse timing method. It is in its early stages, and we are
encouraging amateur astronomers to get involved. We also hope to link
with university undergraduate programs around the world with access to
small telescopes. More details can be
found here. The page is under
construction, but has basic information and links to some useful
papers.
I am also involved in the search for substellar
companions to Horizontal Branch stars using the radial velocity
method;
Some work-related links
astro-ph preprints
Exoplanets.org
Personal stuff
Some links (but not many!):
The Sydney Morning Herald
Google Maps
Wikipedia
This page is always under construction!