NEWS OF THE CoRoT SPACE MISSION AND FIRST RESULTS

摘要

CoRoT is the first instrument aiming at detecting exoplan-ets from space, using the transit method. It has been built in order to explore the domain of planets with orbital period less than three months, and size down to about two Earth radii. Successfully launched on the 27th of December 2006, the instrument started its science obser-vations by the beginning of February 2007. The first detections show the capability of the instrument to enlarge the parameter space and to explore the transition regime between gaseous giant and terrestrial planets. Five new transiting giant planets discovered by CoRoT are fully characterized at the tinie of writing.