Briefly describe the Doppler method. Briefly describe the Doppler method. The Doppler technique watches for tiny movements of a star against the background of other stars. It's best for detecting massive planets that orbit far from their stars, even though distant planets take longer to orbit. Current technology limits its use to very rare cases. It works best for nearby stars. The Doppler technique watches for movement in stars by looking for periodic Doppler shifts. It's best for detecting massive planets with close-in orbits. It detects planets in all orbit orientations except face-on. The Doppler technique watches for tiny movements of a star against the background of other stars. It's best for detecting massive planets with close-in orbits. It detects planets in all orbit orientations except face-on. The Doppler technique watches for the changes brightness of a star as the planet passes in front of the star's disk. The star's light dims slightly because the planet is dimmer than the star. This technique works only in the rare cases when the planet's orbit is nearly edge-on as seen from Earth, since otherwise the planet will pass to one side of the star as it orbits.