Finding planets with a 10-cm telescope

[ToSeek]

Backyard Telescope Helps Find New Planet (http://www.space.com/scienceastronomy/exoplanet_transit_040824.html)

With the help of a modified backyard telescope, astronomers have discovered a giant planet orbiting another star. It is the first extrasolar world found with such modest equipment.

Large observatories pinned down the finding after 16 candidate planets were identified by a 4-inch (10-centimeter) telescope, in a professionally run search effort that uses off-the-shelf parts and complex computer analysis.

The technique, now proven to work, promises similar findings ahead.

Importantly, the process finds planets whose atmospheres can be probed with the Hubble Space Telescope, paving the way for a greater understanding of giant worlds around other stars. Hubble might even be able to detect a moon if one orbits the newfound planet.

[The Supreme Canuck]

10 cm ?!? :o

[Charlie in Dayton]

4 inches...that does seem to be a tad small...

But the specs for the 'specially designed' scopes do allow for the possibility of getting the targets (and that's all they were doing...the final checkout was done with much larger scopes, such as Keck). A good autoguider, a CCD imager set to record variations in light levels...not umpossle...

[The Bad Astronomer]

The press release doesn't say what star, but I'm guessing it's brighter than 7th magnitude. Otherwise they wouldn't be able to collect enough photons. I want to know what star; I want to observe it!

[MrObvious]

Now I feel totally inadequate, I have a 4inch mak and last night tried to spot a galaxy. Yep, found the right spot and neither my friend or I could see the thing. Software says it can be seen in binoc's or a view finder. I guess their bino's or view finder must be bigger than my scope.....

I can't even imagine detecting the intensity change like they did. The amount of turbulence is quite high every time I look up. Must be one hell of a long averaging filter, certainly explains the amount of data.

Slightly off topic, how can one predict if its possible to see an object with a given scope? The magnitude figures don't work, how does the brightness figure tie in with the magnitude etc?

[um3k]

MrObvious, you need to take light pollution (http://www.darksky.org/) into account.

[MrObvious]

Thanks for the link.
I got rid of the LP factor by going to dark sites. I have a property in the country that has no lighting for at least 25km and thats only a small town. Still, I can't get the same results that other people are claiming from smaller instruments.
Might start another thread to discuss this issue.

[Kullat Nunu]

The press release doesn't say what star, but I'm guessing it's brighter than 7th magnitude. Otherwise they wouldn't be able to collect enough photons. I want to know what star; I want to observe it!

Well, looks like it isn't that bright... The research paper abstract (http://arxiv.org/abs/astro-ph/0408421) says its magnitude is only 11.79. After all, it is a K0V star ~500 ly away.

According to the paper, it is located at RA: 19:04:09.8, Dec: +36:37:57; it is designated as GSC 02652-01324 and 2MASS 19040985+3637574.

[pmcolt]

I'm amazed. They put together three 10 cm scopes and use them to look for extrasolar planets. I take my 20 cm scope out at night and frequently stare at pink-orange glow.

The equipment they list looks to be within the reach of backyard astronomers. Could searching for extrasolar planet transits become an amateur hobby? Build your little modified scope, set it up to run for a few months, run it through your BackyardPlanetHunter@Home program and report any promising candidates to your friendly neighborhood 10m aperture observatory?

[Kullat Nunu]

I'm amazed.

You're not the only one.

The equipment they list looks to be within the reach of backyard astronomers. Could searching for extrasolar planet transits become an amateur hobby? Build your little modified scope, set it up to run for a few months, run it through your BackyardPlanetHunter@Home program and report any promising candidates to your friendly neighborhood 10m aperture observatory?

Perhaps. Unfortunately, search for planetary signals is not that simple:

"Technically, an amateur could have discovered these candidates, but that's not enough," notes Charbonneau. "You have to keep in mind that we monitored 12,000 stars, and that it took several Ph.D. scientists working full-time for several years to build the equipment and develop the software. All the technology and components we used are commercially available, but it's very difficult to write the software and analyze the data."

Still, members of our local astronomical society were the first amateurs to detect (http://www.jklsirius.fi/HD209458/HD209458_eng.html) an extrasolar planet, HD 209458b (however, I wasn't involved any way on this). So any experienced observer with proper instruments can at least detect extrasolar planet transits if they know where to look.

[russ_watters]

The equipment they list looks to be within the reach of backyard astronomers. Could searching for extrasolar planet transits become an amateur hobby? Build your little modified scope, set it up to run for a few months, run it through your BackyardPlanetHunter@Home program and report any promising candidates to your friendly neighborhood 10m aperture observatory?

Perhaps. Unfortunately, search for planetary signals is not that simple:

"Technically, an amateur could have discovered these candidates, but that's not enough," notes Charbonneau. "You have to keep in mind that we monitored 12,000 stars, and that it took several Ph.D. scientists working full-time for several years to build the equipment and develop the software. All the technology and components we used are commercially available, but it's very difficult to write the software and analyze the data."

Still, members of our local astronomical society were the first amateurs to detect (http://www.jklsirius.fi/HD209458/HD209458_eng.html) an extrasolar planet, HD 209458b (however, I wasn't involved any way on this). So any experienced observer with proper instruments can at least detect extrasolar planet transits if they know where to look. Then again - "standing on the shoulders of giants..." It took a team of PhD's several years only because no one knew how to do it (or even if it could be done). Duplicating the work now is probably not all that hard. I can envision a good CCD camera on a scope, connected to a computer with this complex software (if these PhD's choose to release it), and watching a single star for several months. I doubt there is a comet hunter out there who wouldn't jump at a 1 in 12,000 chance of finding a new planet.