Piloting a network of small telescopes

Fadavi, Mehri; Verveer, A.; Aymon, J.; Merlin, D.; Situ, K.; Pennypackker, C.; Biggs, James D.; White, Gary; Gould, A.; Greenberg, Gerald S.; Hoette, V.; McCarron, Kay Roseberry; Archer, Kellie J.; Pino, F del; Hibbs, Matthew A.; Ford, Merryl; Wetsch, J.

doi:10.1002/asna.200610686

Cited by 2 publications

(2 citation statements)

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“…OBSERVATIONS AND DATA COMPLETENESS 2.1. Summary of Observations and Data Reduction done in Blank et al (2018) The observations that make up our data set of 329 light curves came from the world-wide robotic telescope network Skynet (Reichart et al 2005), the Real Astronomy Experience (RAE) robotic telescope (Fadavi et al 2006) located in in Bickley, Western Australia, and from several participating observatories from the Kilodegree Extremely Little Telescope (KELT; Pepper et al 2007Pepper et al , 2012 Follow-Up Network (KELT-FUN; Collins et al 2018). More details about the participat-ing instruments are in Table 2 in Paper I.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

A Multi-year Search for Transits of Proxima Centauri. II. No Evidence for Transit Events with Periods between 1 and 30 days

Feliz

Blank

Collins

et al. 2019

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Using a global network of small telescopes, we have obtained light curves of Proxima Centauri at 329 observation epochs from 2006 -2017. The planet Proxima b discovered by Anglada-Escudé et al. (2016) with an orbital period of 11.186 d has an a priori transit probability of ∼ 1.5%; if it transits, the predicted transit depth is about 5 millimagnitudes. In Blank et al. (2018), we analyzed 96 of our light curves that overlapped with predicted transit ephemerides from previously published tentative transit detections, and found no evidence in our data that would corroborate claims of transits with a period of 11.186 d. Here we broaden our analysis, using 262 high-quality light curves from our data set to search for any periodic transit-like events over a range of periods from 1 -30 d. We also inject a series of simulated planet transits and find that our data are sufficiently sensitive to have detected transits of 5 millimagnitude depth, with recoverability ranging from ∼100% for an orbital period of 1 d to ∼20% for an orbital period of 20 d for the parameter spaces tested. Specifically at the 11.186 d period and 5 millimagnitude transit depth, we rule out transits in our data with high confidence. We are able to rule out virtually all transits of other planets at periods shorter than 5 d and depths greater than 3 millimagnitudes; however, we cannot confidently rule out transits at the period of Proxima b due to incomplete orbital phase coverage and a lack of sensitivity to transits shallower than 4 millimagnitudes.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

A Multi-year Search for Transits of Proxima Centauri. II. No Evidence for Transit Events with Periods between 1 and 30 days

Feliz

Blank

Collins

et al. 2019

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“…Our 2006 to 2008 observations were obtained using the Real Astronomy Experience (RAE) Robotic Telescope at the Perth Observatory in Bickley, Western Australia, which was primarily used for astronomy education in the "Hands on Universe" program (Fadavi et al 2006) 16 . The telescope was a Schmidt-Cassegrain design with an aperture of 0.35 m and was equipped with an Apogee Ap7 CCD camera and BV RI filters.…”

Section: Perth Observationsmentioning

confidence: 99%

A Multi-year Search for Transits of Proxima Centauri. I. Light Curves Corresponding to Published Ephemerides

Blank¹,

Feliz²,

Collins³

et al. 2018

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Proxima Centauri has become the subject of intense study since the radial-velocity discovery by Anglada-Escudé et al. (2016) of a planet orbiting this nearby M-dwarf every ∼ 11.2 days. If Proxima Centauri b transits its host star, independent confirmation of its existence is possible, and its mass and radius can be measured in units of the stellar host mass and radius. To date, there have been three independent claims of possible transit-like event detections in light curve observations obtained by the MOST satellite (in 2014-15), the BSST telescope in Antarctica (in 2016), and the Las Campanas Observatory (in 2016). The claimed possible detections are tentative, due in part to the variability intrinsic to the host star, and in the case of the ground-based observations, also due to the limited duration of the light curve observations. Here, we present preliminary results from an extensive photometric monitoring campaign of Proxima Centauri, using telescopes around the globe and spanning from 2006 to 2017, comprising a total of 329 observations. Considering our data that coincide directly and/or phased with the previously published tentative transit detections, we are unable to independently verify those claims. We do, however, verify the previously reported ubiquitous and complex variability of the host star. We discuss possible interpretations of the data in light of the previous claims, and we discuss future analyses of these data that could more definitively verify or refute the presence of transits associated with the radial-velocity discovered planet.

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Piloting a network of small telescopes

Cited by 2 publications

References 2 publications

A Multi-year Search for Transits of Proxima Centauri. II. No Evidence for Transit Events with Periods between 1 and 30 days

A Multi-year Search for Transits of Proxima Centauri. II. No Evidence for Transit Events with Periods between 1 and 30 days

A Multi-year Search for Transits of Proxima Centauri. I. Light Curves Corresponding to Published Ephemerides

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