Turn down the noise! Disentangling planetary and stellar signals by observing the sun with expres
Active Grant For Research Awarded Last action
- Contract number
- 80NSSC23K0040
- Awardee
-
Lowell Observatory UEI L1A3LW734P89
- Awarding agency
-
Shared Services Center
National Aeronautics and Space Administration
- Obligated
- $573,589
Award facts
- Contract value 100% obligated
- $573,589.00 Current and potential, with all options
- Completion date 96% complete
- Current and potential, with all options
- Contracting staff
- NAICS code
- Not on record
- PSC
- AJ11 General Science And Technology R&D Services; General Science And Technology; Basic Research
- Set-aside
- No set-aside
- Competition
- Full and Open Competition Basic Research
- Pricing
- Other
- Place of performance
- Flagstaff, AZ 86001, USA
Award details come from SAM.gov/FPDS.
Transactions
| Action | Obligated | Date |
|---|---|---|
| Other Administrative Action | $0 | |
| Funding Only Action | $198,487 | |
| Other Administrative Action | $0 | |
| Funding Only Action | $195,869 | |
| Other Administrative Action | $0 | |
| Original award | $179,233 |
About this award
Lowell Observatory received a $573,589 research grant from NASA's Shared Services Center with a completion date of December 31, 2026 to study stellar activity and its impact on exoplanet detection. The project, titled "Turn Down the Noise! Disentangling Planetary and Stellar Signals by Observing the Sun with EXPRES," leverages the Extreme Precision Spectrograph (EXPRES) instrument installed on the observatory's 4.3-meter Discovery Channel Telescope in Flagstaff, Arizona. The research addresses a fundamental challenge in exoplanet detection: stellar surface phenomena such as starspots, faculae, and plage create radial velocity variations that can mask or mimic signals from Earth-sized planets orbiting Sun-like stars. By observing the Sun with EXPRES—the only star whose surface features can be resolved at sufficient spatial resolution—researchers will develop physically motivated understanding of how stellar activity affects radial velocity measurements and create mitigation techniques to enable detection of Earth analog exoplanets.
The EXPRES instrument, which operates at a wavelength range of 380-780 nanometers with a resolving power of R137,500, has already demonstrated on-sky precision of 30 centimeters per second. The solar observation campaign will acquire high-cadence, disk-integrated observations with approximately 300-second cadence whenever the Sun is above 15 degrees in elevation, supplemented with wavelength calibration every 30 minutes using both Thorium Argon and laser frequency comb standards. The resulting solar radial velocity data will be correlated with disk-resolved solar imagery from NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory to establish the relationships between specific solar surface features and induced radial velocity variations. This award was made without a set-aside designation and represents continued support for Lowell Observatory's role as a key partner in NASA-funded astronomical research initiatives.
Quick answers
Who was awarded contract 80NSSC23K0040?
80NSSC23K0040 was awarded to Lowell Observatory by Shared Services Center (National Aeronautics and Space Administration) on January 1, 2023.
How much is contract 80NSSC23K0040 worth?
The government has obligated $573,589 on 80NSSC23K0040.
Was contract 80NSSC23K0040 competed?
The extent of competition for 80NSSC23K0040 was full and open competition.
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