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About

Frans Snik is a leading figure in astronomical instrumentation, specializing in high-precision spectropolarimetry to advance the detection and characterization of exoplanets. His work focuses on developing innovative instruments that push the limits of radial velocity (RV) measurements and polarimetric sensitivity. Snik is the driving force behind the HARPS3 spectrograph (34 citations), a high-resolution echelle instrument designed for the roboticized Isaac Newton Telescope, which aims to achieve 10 cm/s RV precision for exoplanet discovery. He also leads the ABORAS project (2 citations), a dual-beam polarimetric solar feed for HARPS3 that studies stellar variability—a critical challenge in confirming Earth-like planets. By integrating polarimetry with ultra-stable RV measurements, Snik tackles the fundamental problem of distinguishing planetary signals from stellar activity. His contributions are pivotal to next-generation surveys like Terra Hunting, which seek to find the first true Earth twin. With a career defined by building the tools to answer whether we are alone, Snik’s work directly enables the next leap in exoplanet science.