Michael Bottom
Papers
3
Total Citations
62
H-Index
3
About
Michael Bottom is an observational astronomer whose work centers on the design and deployment of robotic exoplanet detection facilities. He is best known as the lead architect of the **Miniature Exoplanet Radial Velocity Array (MINERVA)** , a U.S.-based facility that employs a robotic array of four 0.7-meter telescopes for high-resolution spectroscopy and photometry. Bottom’s most cited paper (37 citations) details MINERVA’s commissioning and early results, establishing a key resource for discovering and characterizing exoplanets around bright stars. He later led the **MINERVA-Australis** project (21 citations), a Southern Hemisphere array uniquely dedicated to confirming and measuring the masses of planets identified by NASA’s TESS mission—filling a critical gap in follow-up capability. His technical contributions extend to innovative fiber-coupling units for 1-meter class telescopes, improving throughput for automated surveys. By bridging engineering and astrophysics, Bottom has enabled precise radial velocity measurements that are essential for transforming TESS candidates into confirmed exoplanets. His work demonstrates how purpose-built, cost-effective facilities can drive major advances in exoplanet science.
Research Focus
Key Achievements
Top Papers
- 1Miniature Exoplanet Radial Velocity Array I: design, commissioning, and early photometric results37 citations · 2015
- 2MINERVA-Australis. I. Design, Commissioning, and First Photometric Results21 citations · 2019
- 3