Automated Planet Finder

The Automated Planet Finder is a robotic telescope at Mount Hamilton equipped with a spectrograph that analyzes light from stars to detect planetary companions. This system operates automatically and focuses on measuring tiny shifts in stellar motion that reveal the presence of orbiting worlds.

The project emerged in the early 2010s as a collaboration between the University of California and other institutions seeking to create an innovative tool for detecting planets around distant stars. The facility was built at Lick Observatory on Mount Hamilton, a historic site for astronomical observation.

The telescope contributes to astronomical research by examining approximately 1,000 nearby stars within 100 light years from Earth over a ten-year period.

The facility operates automatically at night without requiring manual adjustments, since the system works independently once activated. Visitors should keep in mind that the observatory sits at high elevation and may be closed during poor weather conditions.

The instrument can measure stellar motion so precisely that it detects planets with Earth-like mass around distant stars. This capability has enabled researchers to catalog numerous exoplanets and expand our knowledge of planetary systems beyond our own.