The survey is led by Steven Vogt, professor of astronomy and astrophysics at University of California at Santa Cruz, and R. Paul Butler of the Carnegie Institution.
[1] The founding team was the recipient of the 2002 Carl Sagan Memorial Award.
The activities of the Lick–Carnegie Extrasolar Planet Search Program include precision Doppler based monitoring of over 1330 nearby F, G, K, and M stars for planets using radial velocity measurements at 2–3 m/s precision.
These extrasolar planetary systems display a diversity of orbital periods, sizes, and eccentricities, providing new insight into the origins and evolution of planetary systems.
If confirmed, this would be the first strong case for a potentially habitable Earth-like exoplanet yet discovered.