Skip Navigation

Vanessa Bailey

Photo of Vanessa Bailey

Address:

4800 Oak Grove Drive
321-175S

Pasadena, CA 91109

Curriculum Vitae:

Click here

Member of:

Exoplanet Systems

Biography

I'm interested in exoplanet detection and characterization, with a primary focus on high-contrast direct imaging: detecting faint exoplanets and circumstellar disks next to their bright host stars by literally taking a picture of them. I enjoy working at the interface between exoplanet science and instrument design. I work primarily on the Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope Coronagraph Instrument, a high-contrast instrument that will be capable of directly imaging exoplanets and circumstellar disks in the visible at unprecedented contrast levels. I have also worked as a member of the ASTERIA science team; ASTERIA was the first CubeSat to detect a transiting exoplanet.

Education

  • BS, Astrophysics & BS Physics: University of Minnesota - Twin Cities (2009);
  • PhD, Astronomy: University of Arizona (2015)

Professional Experience

Jet Propulsion Laboratory (2017+)

  • Instrument Scientist, Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope Coronagraph Instrument (2025+)
  • Instrument Technologist, Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope Coronagraph Instrument (2019-2025)
  • Habitable Worlds Observatory project science team (2025+)
  • Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope Coronagraph Instrument project science team (2017+)
  • ASTERIA CubeSat science team member and JPL exoplanet task PI (2019-2020)

Postdoc, Stanford University (2015-2017)

Research Interests

High-contrast imaging of exoplanets and circumstellar disks, adaptive optics, observational tracers of exoplanet formation processes, disk-planet interaction, transiting exoplanets.

Selected Publications

Peer reviewed papers, first author

  • Bailey, V. P.; Meshkat, T.; Reiter, M.; Morzinski, K.; Males, J.; Su, K. Y. L.; Hinz, P. M.; Kenworthy, M.; Stark, D.; Mamajek, E.; Briguglio, R.; Close, L. M.; Follette, K. B.; Puglisi, A.; Rodigas, T.; Weinberger, A. J.; and Xompero, M. HD 106906 b: A Planetary-mass Companion Outside a Massive Debris Disk. ApJ, 780, L4 (2014).
  • Bailey, V. P.; Hinz, P. M.; Currie, T.; Su, K. Y. L.; Esposito, S.; Hill, J. M.; Hoffmann, W. F.; Jones, T.; Kim, J.; Leisenring, J.; Meyer, M.; Murray-Clay, R.; Nelson, M. J.; Pinna, E.; Puglisi, A.; Rieke, G.; Rodigas, T.; Skemer, A.; Skrutskie, M. F.; Vaitheeswaran, V.; and Wilson, J. C. A Thermal Infrared Imaging Study of Very Low Mass, Wide-separation Brown Dwarf Companions to Upper Scorpius Stars: Constraining Circumstellar Environments. ApJ, 767, 31 (2013).

SPIE Conference proceedings, first author

  • Bailey, V. P.; Bendek, E.; Monacelli, B.; Baker, C.; Bedrosian, G.; Cady, E.; Douglas, E. S.; Groff, T.; Hildebrandt, S. R.; Kasdin, N. J.; Krist, J.; Macintosh, B.; Mennesson, B.; Morrissey, P.; Poberezhskiy, I.; Subedi, H. B.; Rhodes, J.; Roberge, A.; Ygouf, M.; Zellem, R. T.; Zhao, F.; Zimmerman, N. T., Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope Coronagraph Instrument Overview and Status. In Techniques and Instrumentation for Detection of Exoplanets XI, Proc. SPIE, vol. 12680, p. 126800T (2023)
  • Bailey, V. P.; Bottom, M.; Cady, E; Cantalloube, F.; de Boer, J.; Groff, T.; Krist, J.; Millar-Blanchaer, M. A.; Vigan, A.; Chilcote, J.; Choquet, E.; De Rosa, R. J.; Girard, J. H.; Guyon, O.; Kern, B.; Lagranage, A.-M.; Macintosh, B.; Males, J. R.; Marois, C.; Meshkat, T.; Milli, J.; N’Diaye, M.; Ngo, H.; Nielsen, E. L.; Rhodes, J.; Ruane, G.; van Holstein, R. G.; Wang, J. J.; Xuan, W. J., Lessons for WFIRST CGI from ground-based high-contrast systems. In Space Telescopes and Instrumentation 2018: Optical, Infrared, and Millimeter Wave, Proc. SPIE, vol. 10698, p. 10698P (2018).
  • Bailey, V. P.; Poyneer, L. A.; Macintosh, B. A.; Savransky, D.; Wang, J. J.; De Rosa, R. J.; Follette, K. B.; Ammons, S. M.; Hayward, T.; Ingraham, P.; Maire, J.; Palmer, D. W.; Perrin, M. D.; Rajan, A.; Rantakyro, F. T.; Thomas, S.; and Veran, J.-P. Status and performance of the Gemini Planet Imager adaptive optics system. In Adaptive Optics Systems V, Proc. SPIE, vol. 9909, p. 99090V (2016).
  • Bailey, V. P.; Hinz, P. M.; Puglisi, A. T.; Esposito, S.; Vaitheeswaran, V.; Skemer, A. J.; Defrere, D.; Vaz, A.; and Leisenring, J. M. Large binocular telescope interferometer adaptive optics: on-sky performance and lessons learned. In Adaptive Optics Systems IV, Proc. SPIE, vol. 9148, p. 914803 (2014).

Recent peer reviewed papers, substantive coauthor

  • Llop-Sayson; Bailey, V.P.; Hom, J.; Krist, J.; Mennesson, B.; Hasler, S.; Greenbaum, A.; Riggs, A. J. E.; Bryden, G.; Roman coronagraph simulations of exozodi observations in the presence of wavefront errors, JATIS, 11, 045009 (2025). ADS
  • Riggs, A. J. E.; Bailey, V. P.; Moody, D.; Balasubramanian, K.; Basinger, S. A.; Belikov, R.; Bendek, E.; Debes, J.; Dube, B. D.; Gersh-Range, J.; Groff, T. D.; Kasdin, N. J.; Mennesson, B.; Monacelli, B.; Moore, D. M.; Ruane, G.; Sandhu, J.; Shi, F.; Sidick, E.; Siegler, N.; Sirbu, D.; Trauger, J.; Weisberg, C. L.; White, V. E.; Wilson, D. W.; Wilson, R. C.; Yee, K. Y.; Zimmerman, N. T.; Flight masks of the Roman Space Telescope Coronagraph Instrument; JATIS,11, 021403 (2025). ADS
  • Krishnamurthy, A.; Knapp, M.; Günther, M. N.; Daylan, T.; Demory, B.-O.; Seager, S.; Bailey, V. P.; Smith, M. W.; Pong, C. M.; Hughes, K.; Donner, A.; Di Pasquale, P.; Campuzano, B.; Smith, C.; Luu, J.; Babuscia, A.; Bocchino, R. L., Jr.; Loveland, J.; Colley, C.; Gedenk, T.; Kulkarni, T.; White, M.; Krajewski, J.; Fesq, L., Transit Search for Exoplanets around Alpha Centauri A and B with ASTERIA, AJ, 161, 275 (2021) ADS
  • Seager, S.; Knapp, M.; Demory, B.-O.; Krishnamurthy, A.; Huang, C. X.; Badenas Agusti, M.; Shporer, A.; Weisserman, D.; Becker, J.; Vanderburg, A.; Smith, M. W.; Pong, C. M.; Bailey, V. P.; Donner, A.; Di Pasquale, P.; Campuzano, B.; Smith, C.; Luu, J.; Babuscia, A.; Bocchino, R. L. Jr.; Loveland, J.; Colley, C.; Gedenk, T.; Kulkarni, T.; Hughes, K.; White, M.; Krajewski, J.; Fesq, L.; Ricker, G.; Vanderspek, R.; Latham, D. W.; Jenkins, J. M.; Winn, J. N.; Caldwell, D. A.; Collins, K. A.; Dragomir, D.; Fausnaugh, M.; Glidden, A.; Schlieder, J. E.; Twicken, J. D.; Wohler, B., HD 219134 Revisited: Planet d Transit Upper Limit and Planet f Transit Nondetection with ASTERIA and TESS, AJ, 161, 117 (2021) ADS
  • Knapp, M.; Seager, S.; Demory, B.-O.; Krishnamurthy, A.; Smith, M. W.; Pong, C. M.; Bailey, V. P.; Donner, A.; Di Pasquale, P.; Campuzano, B.; Smith, C.; Luu, J.; Babuscia, A.; Bocchino, R. L., Jr.; Loveland, J.; Colley, C.; Gedenk, T.; Kulkarni, T.; Hughes, K.; White, M. Krajewski, J.; Fesq, Demonstrating High-precision Photometry with a CubeSat: ASTERIA Observations of 55 Cancri e, AJ, 160, 23 (2020) ADS
  • Tallis, M.; Bailey, V. P.; Macintosh, B.; Poyneer, L. A.; Ruffio, J.-B.; Hayward, T.; Rantakyrö, F. T.; Chilcote, J. K.; Savransky, D.; Effects of mirror seeing on high-contrast adaptive optics instruments, JATIS, 6, 015002 (2020). ADS