The UNSW Extrasolar Planet Search: Methods and First Results from a Field Centred on NGC 6633

Abstract

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 0.5m Automated Patrol Telescope. We use a novel observing technique to optimally broaden the PSF and thus largely eliminate photometric noise due to intra-pixel sensitivity variations on the CCD. We have observed 8 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 4 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 maximise the number of planets detected.

arXiv comment16 pages, 9 figures, version published in MNRAS Updated figures, references, and additional discussion in section 7

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Cited by in corpus (22)

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• Survey for Transiting Extrasolar Planets in Stellar Systems: III. A Limit on the Fraction of Stars with Planets in the Open Cluster NGC 1245
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• A new detached K7 dwarf eclipsing binary system
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• Survey for Transiting Extrasolar Planets in Stellar Systems IV: Variables in the Field of NGC 1245
• Fourier spectra from exoplanets with polar caps and ocean glint
• Development of ARIES Baker-Nunn camera to a wide-field Imaging Telescope with CCD