Citizen science astronomy with a network of small telescopes: the launch and deployment of JWST

Lambert, Ryan A.; Marchis, Franck; Asencio, Joe; Blaclard, Guillaume; Esposito, Tom; Sgro, Lauren A.; Giogini, Jon D.; Plavchan, Peter; White, Tracy; Verveen, Aad; Goto, T.; Kuossari, Petri; Sethu, N.; Loose, Margaret A.; Will, Stefan; Sibbernsen, K.; Pickering, John W.; Randolph, Justus; Fukui, Keiichi; Huet, P.; Guillet, Bruno; O., Clerget,; Stahl, S.; Yoblonsky, N.; M., Lauvernier,; Matsumura, T.; M., Yamato,; Laugier, Jean-Marie; O., Brodt-Vilain,; A., Espudo,; Kukita, R.; Iida, S.; Kardel, S.; Green, D.; P., Tikkanen,; A., Douvas,; M., Billiani,; G., Knight,; Ryno, M.; Simard, Georges; Knight, R.; Primm, Michael; B., Wildhagen,; Poncet, J.; T., Frachon,; Shimizu, Masao; Jackson, A.; Parker, Bruce; Redfern, G.; P., Nikiforov,; Friday, E.; K., Lincoln,; Sweitzer, Jim; Mitsuoka, R.; Cabral, K.; A., Katterfeld,; M., Fairfax,

doi:10.1117/12.2628678

Cited by 2 publications

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“…As of 2022 August, the Unistellar Slack channel had 1350 members. There are 26 sub-channels on the Unistellar Slack channel for various citizen science missions, such as comet tracking and observation, planetary defense, asteroid occultations, various satellite-tracking missions (such as the JWST orbit) (Lambert et al 2022), and exoplanet transits and data reduction help. There are also additional private education channels for educators and students, where they are encouraged and trained for exoplanet observations as well as where developed educational materials are shared.…”

Section: Network Communication and Observing Strategiesmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Unistellar Exoplanet Campaign: Citizen Science Results and Inherent Education Opportunities

Peluso

Espósito

Marchis

et al. 2023

PASP

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This paper presents early results from and prospects for exoplanet science using a citizen science private/public partnership observer network managed by the SETI Institute in collaboration with Unistellar. The network launched in 2020 January and includes 163 citizen scientist observers across 21 countries. These observers can access a citizen science mentoring service developed by the SETI Institute and are also equipped with Unistellar Enhanced Vision Telescopes. Unistellar technology and the campaign’s associated photometric reduction pipeline enable each telescope to readily obtain and communicate light curves to observers with signal-to-noise ratio suitable for publication in research journals. Citizen astronomers of the Unistellar Exoplanet (UE) Campaign routinely measure transit depths of ≳1% and contribute their results to the exoplanet research community. The match of the detection system, targets, and scientific and educational goals is robust. Results to date include 281 transit detections out of 651 processed observations. In addition to this campaign’s capability to contribute to the professional field of exoplanet research, UE endeavors to drive improved science, technology, engineering, and mathematics education outcomes by engaging students and teachers as participants in science investigations, that is, learning science by doing science.

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Section: Network Communication and Observing Strategiesmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Unistellar Exoplanet Campaign: Citizen Science Results and Inherent Education Opportunities

Peluso

Espósito

Marchis

et al. 2023

PASP

Self Cite

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A 16 hr Transit of Kepler-167 e Observed by the Ground-based Unistellar Telescope Network

Perrocheau

Espósito

Dalba

et al. 2022

ApJL

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More than 5000 exoplanets have been confirmed and among them almost 4000 were discovered by the transit method. However, few transiting exoplanets have an orbital period greater than 100 days. Here we report a transit detection of Kepler-167 e, a “Jupiter analog” exoplanet orbiting a K4 star with a period of 1071 days, using the Unistellar ground-based telescope network. From 2021 November 18 to 20, citizen astronomers located in nine different countries gathered 43 observations, covering the 16 hr long transit. Using a nested sampling approach to combine and fit the observations, we detected the midtransit time to be UTC 2021 November 19 17:20:51 with a 1σ uncertainty of 9.8 minutes, making it the longest-period planet to ever have its transit detected from the ground. This is the fourth transit detection of Kepler-167 e, but the first made from the ground. This timing measurement refines the orbit and keeps the ephemeris up to date without requiring space telescopes. Observations like this demonstrate the capabilities of coordinated networks of small telescopes to identify and characterize planets with long orbital periods.

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Citizen science astronomy with a network of small telescopes: the launch and deployment of JWST

Cited by 2 publications

References 0 publications

The Unistellar Exoplanet Campaign: Citizen Science Results and Inherent Education Opportunities

The Unistellar Exoplanet Campaign: Citizen Science Results and Inherent Education Opportunities

A 16 hr Transit of Kepler-167 e Observed by the Ground-based Unistellar Telescope Network

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