Abstract:
The subject of this thesis is the detection of extra-solar planets via gravitational microlensing events of high amplification. An introduction to gravitational lensing and microlensing is presented and followed by theoretical investigations into the nature of planetary microlensing. The MOA collaboration operations and research facilities are described. An analysis of three microlensing events is presented. The first contains evidence for an Earth-mass planet. The second shows the effect of parallax and allowed an estimation of the lens star mass. The third event was a high amplification binary star lens event, which allowed a detailed profile of the source star to be made. The development of the analysis procedures and their implementation on a cluster computer are described.
