2006/12/22 by M. J. Darnley, E. Kerins, A. Newsam +18 · 17 citations
Physics and Astronomy · #Andromeda #Andromeda Galaxy #Angstrom #Astronomy #Astronomy and Astrophysical Research #Astrophysics #Bulge #Galaxies: Formation, Evolution, Phenomena #Galaxy #Gravitational microlensing #Light curve #Milky Way #Physics #Planet #Stellar, planetary, and galactic studies #astro-ph
paper · pdf · doi:10.1086/518600
published in The Astrophysical Journal 661(1), L45-L48 (IOP Publishing) · 4 pages, submitted to ApJ Letters
arxiv created 2006/12/22 · openalex publication_date 2007/05/04 · arxiv updated 2009/12/01 · openalex created_date 2020/11/23 · openalex updated_date 2026/08/05
The Angstrom Project is undertaking an optical survey of stellar microlensing events across the bulge region of the Andromeda galaxy (M31) using a distributed network of 2 m class telescopes. The Angstrom Project Alert System (APAS) has been developed to identify candidate microlensing and transient events in real time, using data from the Liverpool and Faulkes North robotic telescopes. This is the first time that real-time microlensing discovery has been attempted outside of the Milky Way and its satellite galaxies. The APAS is designed to enable follow-up studies of M31 microlensing systems, including searches for gas giant planets in M31. Here we describe the APAS, and we present a few example light curves obtained during its commissioning phase that clearly demonstrate its real-time capability to identify microlensing candidates as well as other transient sources.