Proxima Centauri b transit observation

[bojan]

Proxima Centauri b transit observation
AAVSO wants Proxima to be observed, to detect possible planet transit...
This shouldn't be too difficult, Proxima is easy target for us and just setting the intervalometer for a frame every 10 minutes or so should do...
Any thoughts?

Is there some photometric software available to process the data automatically? (I did a lot of photometry on novae in the past... very tedious job and there were only ten or so frames to process... for this project there may be hundreds of frames every night).

*********************************** *
AAVSO Alert Notice 571

March 16, 2017

Observations Requested of Exoplanet Proxima Centauri b

Dr. Karen Collins (Vanderbilt University) has requested
ground-based, follow-up observations of recently discovered
exoplanet Proxima Centauri b. This exoplanet is a suspected
Earth-size planet orbiting in the habitable zone of our nearest
stellar neighbor, Proxima Centauri (V645 Cen). There exists a rough
ephemeris of this target based on radial velocity measurements, so
the predicted mid-transit times can vary +/- 6 hours. Therefore, it
is requested that observations be as long as possible. The expected
duration of the transit is less than two hours long. The transit
depth is expected to be 5 mmag. However, because Proxima Centauri
itself is a flare star, there may be large variations in the light
curve.

These observations are most suitable for those with prior
experience conducting exoplanet observing.

The Southern hemisphere target Proxima Centauri has a magnitude
range of 11.1 - 11.3 V.

Please contact Dennis Conti, AAVSO’s Exoplanet Section Chair, at
dennis@astrodennis.com if you are interested in participating in
such observations and would like the predicted transit times, or
if you have any further questions.

Coordinates for Proxima Centauri (V645 Cen):
R.A. 14 29 42.95 Dec. -62 40 46.2 (2000.0)

Charts: Charts with a comparison star sequence for Proxima Centauri
may be created using the AAVSO Variable Star Plotter (VSP) at
https://www.aavso.org/vsp.

This campaign is being monitored on the AAVSO Observing Campaigns
webpage at https://www.aavso.org/observing-campaigns.


This AAVSO Alert Notice was compiled by Elizabeth O. Waagen from
material supplied by Dr. Dennis Conti.

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[astromiles]

The task in hand is a fairly prodigious one given that the depth of the transits is only about 0.005 mag! Dennis Conti can best advise you but I am happy to discuss offline as I am contemplating working on this host star at some point.

Richard

[bojan]

Hi Richard,
Thank you for your comment.
Yep, 0.005mag dip is VERY shallow, almost negligible... less than 1/20 of what I think I managed to detect in the past.
However, since the only short term & relative measurement is involved, maybe it could be achievable...
Proxima is visible through the whole night in this part of the year, so... maybe ... if Proxima b is transiting at all (https://arxiv.org/abs/1609.08718).

[bojan]

First image of Proxima (centre), for getting a "feelling" for correct exposure and attempt to do photometry (usind AstroImageJ... awesome package BTW.... with very steep learning curve, but I well get there....)

Image below is obtained from single RAW frame (just some stretching applied in DPP for better visibility), 64 sec with MC Rubinar 10/1000 and Canon 60D (standard).. no filters (next time I will use L-Pro filter to increase contrast).
For actual photometry CR2 files need to be converted to TIFF format (which can be read and processed by AIJ)