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Which of the following is a FALSE statement about the Doppler method for finding exoplanets?

(a) The heavier the star, the smaller the wobble we see in a telescope.
(b) The Doppler method works best for edge-on orbits.
(c) The Doppler method works best for exoplanets orbiting close to their stars.
(d) Using the Doppler method, we can only study one star at a time.
(e) The Doppler method cannot tell us an exoplanet's temperature or its age.

1 Answer

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Final answer:

The false statement about the Doppler method for finding exoplanets is that it works best for edge-on orbits, whereas in reality, the method can be used for any orientation as long as there is a detectable wobble caused by an orbiting planet.

Step-by-step explanation:

The false statement about the Doppler method for finding exoplanets is: (b) The Doppler method works best for edge-on orbits. In fact, the method does not require edge-on orbits to detect radial velocity variations due to the presence of an exoplanet. Instead, variations in the speed of a star can be detected when an orbiting planet causes the star to wobble, which can be observed as tiny redshifts and blueshifts in the star's spectrum. While the method does work best for large planets close to their stars, it can also disentangle the radial velocity signatures of multiple planets, allowing for the study of entire planetary systems.

It is also true that the Doppler method allows us to find only the minimum mass of a planet unless we know the angle at which the planet's orbit is inclined relative to our line of sight. Nonetheless, this technique has been instrumental in the detection of hundreds of planets, even those orbiting stars at a considerable distance, as long as the star's light can be captured with high-resolution spectroscopy.

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