What characteristic property does the radial velocity method primarily determine about an exoplanet?
Answer
Its minimum mass
The radial velocity method measures the star's wobble, which is caused by the planet's gravitational pull. The stronger the pull (more massive planet), the larger the wobble, allowing determination of the planet's minimum mass.
Related Questions
Which detection technique is responsible for the largest number of confirmed exoplanet discoveries?What fundamental property does the transit method provide immediate information about?What phenomenon allows astronomers to detect the star's 'wobble' using the radial velocity method?What characteristic property does the radial velocity method primarily determine about an exoplanet?How is a planet's density calculated using information from multiple detection techniques?What is the primary technical hurdle astronomers face when attempting direct imaging of exoplanets?Which term describes the instruments used internally within a telescope to precisely shape the light path and block out starlight for direct imaging?What does the astrometry method measure to infer the presence of a planet?Why is the gravitational microlensing method valuable for discovering certain types of planets?What inherent limitation results in the current catalog of known exoplanets being biased?