EXOPLANET Observations for Amateurs

[vk2emq]

Trans-Atlantic Exoplanet Survey is mentioned on APOD for 22 Aug see (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trans-Atlantic_Exoplanet_Survey)

http://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap110822.html

and

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trans-Atlantic_Exoplanet_Survey

The Trans-atlantic Exoplanet Survey or TrES, uses three 4-inch (10 cm) telescopes located at Lowell Observatory (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lowell_Observatory), Palomar Observatory (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Palomar_Observatory), and the Canary Islands (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Canary_Islands) to locate exoplanets (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Exoplanet). It was made using the network of small, relatively inexpensive telescopes designed to look specifically for planets orbiting bright stars using the transit method (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Methods_of_detecting_extrasolar_pla nets#Transit_method). The array uses 4-inch Schmidt telescopes (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Schmidt_telescope) having CCD (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charge-coupled_device) cameras and automated search routines.

I'm sure a team of Iceinspacers scattered between say Perth and Wellington could discover our own exoplanets ....?

Any one know further details on TrES and / or interested in pursuing ?

John vk2emq

[mswhin63]

If I had the time I would go for it, although most of these observatories are high on mountains to reduce affect of atmospheric turbulence otherwise we would need complex Adaptive optics. Perth is very low lying so not the best for stable observing.
The only advantage is that we seem to have less jetstream compared to other locations. This is something I have observed over time.

[lepton3]

John,

There are already exoplanet transit surveys operating in the southern hemisphere, finding a lot of planets. You could have a look at Super WASP http://www.superwasp.org/waspsouth.htm. These guys would be your main competition.

Also, have a look at the Exoplanet Transit Database http://var2.astro.cz/EN/tresca/transits.php for a lot of transits observed by amateurs (some OZ and Kiwi contributors are already there);)

-Ivan