Microlensing Observations in Astrophysics

MOA is an acronym for microlensing Observations in Astrophysics. It is carried out with a 1.8 m diameter large telescope.

It is a Japanese / New Zealand co-operation for the observation of dark matter, extra-solar planets and stellar atmospheres using the microlensing effect. For this, the Mt John Observatory is used in New Zealand.

The most recent success is the discovery of the hitherto smallest super-Earth with a mass of only 3.3 Earth masses (June 2008). In January 2006, another planet already been discovered with a mass of only 5.5 Earth masses in cooperation with the projects OGLE and PLANET.