Ground-based photometry of space-based transit detections: photometric follow-up of the CoRoT mission
Deeg, H. J.; Gillon, M.; Shporer, A.; et al.Rouan, D.; Stecklum, B.; Aigrain, Suzanne; Alapini, Aude; Almenara, J.-M.; Alonso, R.; Barbieri, M.; Bouchy, F.; Eislöffel, J.; Erikson, A.; Fridlund, M.; Eigmüller, P.; Handler, G.; Hatzes, A.; Kabath, P.; Lendl, M.; Mazeh, T.; Moutou, C.; Queloz, D.; Rauer, H.; Rabus, M.; Tingley, B.; Titz, R.
Date: 15 July 2009
Journal
Astronomy and Astrophysics
Publisher
EDP Sciences
Publisher DOI
Abstract
The motivation, techniques and performance of the ground-based photometric follow-up of transit detections by the CoRoT space mission are presented. Its principal raison d'être arises from the much higher spatial resolution of common ground-based telescopes in comparison to CoRoT's cameras. This allows the identification of many transit ...
The motivation, techniques and performance of the ground-based photometric follow-up of transit detections by the CoRoT space mission are presented. Its principal raison d'être arises from the much higher spatial resolution of common ground-based telescopes in comparison to CoRoT's cameras. This allows the identification of many transit candidates as arising from eclipsing binaries that are contaminating CoRoT's lightcurves, even in low-amplitude transit events that cannot be detected with ground-based obervations. For the ground observations, “on” – “off” photometry is now largely employed, in which only a short timeseries during a transit and a section outside a transit is observed and compared photometrically. CoRoTplanet candidates' transits are being observed by a dedicated team with access to telescopes with sizes ranging from 0.2 to 2 m. As an example, the process that led to the rejection of contaminating eclipsing binaries near the host star of the Super-Earth planet CoRoT-7b is shown. Experiences and techniques from this work may also be useful for other transit-detection experiments, when the discovery instrument obtains data with a relatively low angular resolution.
Physics and Astronomy
Faculty of Environment, Science and Economy
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