This has important consequences for the long dynamical stability of the planets and can indication interaction between the planet and star for very short period massive planets. Many host stars are active and magnitude measurements of the star can reveal the rotation period due to stellar spots. Monitoring of exoplanet host stars is also important. Thus, these observations provide information the formation and dynamical history of the planetary systems. Measurements over long periods can reveal minute changes in a planets orbital period which may be due to orbital precession or even decay as planets follow a slow spiral into their host. The regular measurement of transit times can be used to infer the presence of other unseen companion planets through transit timing variations (TTVs). Amateur observers can thus make a real contribution to exoplanet research by making such observations of known transiting exoplanets. With so many planets discovered detailed follow-up observations of only a very small percentage of these is possible with professional telescopes. A schematic of an exoplanet transit.Įxoplanet transits are explained in more detail by Paul Anthony Wilson here. The curve in the transit is caused by the change in brightness of the star from its centre to its limb, the limb darkening, and is different for every star and filter colour used.įigure 2. Ingress starts at t1, and by t2 the planet is fully within the stellar disk from our perspective. The key points in a transit needed to measure timing are shown in Figure 2. Transits occur when the planet crosses the face of the star from our line of view, causing a small but measurable dip in the star’s brightness. As can be seen the majority of these have been discovered by the transit method. The total number of exoplanets discovered over the past twenty years has risen dramatically (Figure 1). Please note that o bservers wishing to participate in the ARIEL ExoClock pro-am project might like to review details at. The tutorial may also assist in the development of a consistent method to be applied by contributors to the section. Novices will hopefully find it useful for developing their skills, and experienced imagers may also pick up some useful tips. This tutorial is about how to image exoplanet transits. Number of exoplanet discoveries by year and detection method. 2020 July 7 Exoplanet Transit Imaging and Analysisįigure 1.
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