The vast majority of known extrasolar planets orbit stars with a narrow range of masses ( 0.7-1.3 M _ { \odot } ) .
Recent years have seen rapid growth in our knowledge about the properties of planetary systems with host stars significantly more massive than the Sun .
Planet formation models predict that giant planets are more common around higher-mass stars ( M _ { * } > 1.5 M _ { \odot } ) .
However , these types of stars pose severe observational challenges while on the main sequence , resulting in a strong bias against them in current planet searches .
Fortunately , it is possible to obtain high-precision Doppler velocities for these massive stars as they evolve off the main sequence and cool as subgiants .
We describe the Pan-Pacific Planet Search , a survey of 170 subgiant stars using the 3.9m Australian Astronomical Telescope .
In collaboration with J. Johnson ’ s Keck survey of Northern “ retired A stars , ” we are monitoring nearly every subgiant brighter than V = 8 .
This survey will provide critical statistics on the frequency and characteristics of planetary systems formed around higher-mass stars .