2005/01/31 by M. G. Hidas, M. C. B. Ashley, J. K. Webb +12 · 3 citations
Physics and Astronomy · #Astronomy #Astronomy and Astrophysical Research #Astrophysics #Astrophysics and Star Formation Studies #Binary number #Exoplanet #Open cluster #Photometry (optics) #Physics #Planet #Radial velocity #Stars #Stellar, planetary, and galactic studies #Telescope #Transit (satellite) #astro-ph
paper · pdf · doi:10.1111/j.1365-2966.2005.09061.x
published as Mon.Not.Roy.Astron.Soc. 360 (2005) 703-717 · 16 pages, 9 figures, version published in MNRAS Updated figures, references, and additional discussion in section 7
openalex publication_date 2005/06/21 · arxiv created 2005/12/02 · arxiv updated 2009/12/01 · openalex created_date 2016/06/24 · openalex updated_date 2026/08/05
We report on the current status of the University of New South Wales Extrasolar Planet Search project, giving details of the methods we use to obtain millimagnitude precision photometry using the 0.5-m Automated Patrol Telescope. We use a novel observing technique to optimally broaden the point spread function and thus largely eliminate photometric noise due to intrapixel sensitivity variations on the CCD. We have observed eight crowded Galactic fields using this technique during 2003 and 2004. Our analysis of the first of these fields (centred on the open cluster NGC 6633) has yielded 49 variable stars and four shallow transit candidates. Follow-up observations of these candidates have identified them as eclipsing binary systems. We use a detailed simulation of our observations to estimate our sensitivity to short-period planets, and to select a new observing strategy to maximize the number of planets detected.