Annual Meetings

INSTRUCTIONS

For the HOPS workshop you are encouraged to download HOPS from this link:
https://www.exoworldsspies.com/en/software/

and one dataset from this link:
https://www.exoworldsspies.com/en/observers/

We will run together the data analysis of a transit

If you face problems we will discuss them during the workshop together.

ABSTRACT
Is there life beyond Earth? An ideal research program would first ascertain how life on Earth began and then use this as a blueprint for its existence elsewhere. But the origin of life on Earth is still not understood, what then could be the way forward? Upcoming observations of terrestrial exoplanets provide a unique opportunity for answering this fundamental question through the study of other planetary systems. If we are able to see how physical and chemical environments similar to the early Earth evolve we open a window into our own Hadean eon, despite all information from this time being long lost from our planet’s geological record. A careful investigation of the chemistry expected on young exoplanets is therefore necessary, and the preparation of reference materials for spectroscopic observations is of paramount importance. In particular, the deduction of chemical markers identifying specific processes and features in exoplanetary environments, ideally “uniquely”. For instance, prebiotic feedstock molecules, in the form of aerosols and vapours, could be observed in transmission spectra in the near future whilst their surface deposits could be observed from reflectance spectra. The same detection methods also promise to identify particular intermediates of chemical and physical processes known to be prebiotically plausible. Is Ariel truly able to open a window to the past and answer questions concerning the origin of life on our planet and the universe?

ABSTRACT
The ESA/Ariel mission will be the first to address extensively the spectral characterization of a large (~1000) sample of exoplanets, in order to constrain the composition, structure and evolution of these objects. After the cataloguing of exoplanets by ground-based and space observatories, and the spectral study of specific objects with ground-based observatories and JWST, the access to a statistical analysis will provide another advance. This approach is comparable to the transition between a descriptive approach followed by a deeper physical description by the explorers in 17th and 18th century. Lessons from Solar System exploration will be an essential tool for Ariel studies to anchor the new exoplanetary measurements in the current knowledge of our planets.

ABSTRACT
Mini-Neptunes, Super-Earths or Super-Mercurys may appear as planets of similar size but have very different composition. Atmospheres contribute little to the average density of rocky planets and instead reflect the chemical evolution of the planet, but atmospheres can be large for gaseous planets. Knowing their total mass or averaged density, respectively, we could be able distinguishing their bulk composition and interior structures. These planet categories fall in between the typical two groups of rocky and gas/icy-giant planets we know from the Solar System, and makes them interesting for planet-formation models and comparative planetology. Studies of the Solar-System planets suggest that if we know the stellar composition and evolution we could estimate the available material that formed each planet with distance from the star. As always the devil is in the details, therefore, we need exoplanet observables such as mass, radius and composition of their atmosphere with high accuracy.

ABSTRACT
Rocky exoplanets are the most common outcome of planet formation, nevertheless they are very difficult to be observed and therefore their atmospheres are highly unknown. During this talk we will explore the diversity of rocky exo-worlds detected so far and what we expect for their atmospheres. We will particularly based the talk on lava planets and planets with a N-dominated atmosphere, talking about their compositions and prospects of observations with Ariel.

ABSTRACT
One of the main challenges faced by the characterization of exoplanet atmospheres is correcting the possible effects caused by stellar variability, in particular magnetic activity. An evolving and rotating inhomogeneous star surface produces chromatic changes to the depth of transits and occultations that can bias the derived planetary spectrum. Our ability to account for these effects is closely related to improving our understanding of stellar activity as a function of time and wavelength. In this talk I will discuss some work carried out within the Ariel consortium to assess the impact of activity, demonstrating that it should not prevent the mission from attaining its scientific goals. The Ariel built-in capabilities can be complemented with multi-colour photometry and high-resolution spectroscopy to allow for the correction of stellar variability on exoplanet transmission data even for host stars showing moderate degree of activity.

ABSTRACT
The accurate and precise determination of the host star fundamental properties is essential to the Ariel mission for drawing a comprehensive picture of the underlying essence of these planetary systems. In this talk I will present a structured approach for the characterisation of Ariel stars that accounts for the concepts of homogeneity and coherence among a large set of stellar parameters.

ABSTRACT
Many amateurs have acquired the equipment and have developed the necessary skills to capture impressive long-exposure images of deep-sky objects. The same skills and equipment can be applied readily to worthwhile science projects such as the photometry and timing of exoplanet transits. The idea of such high-precision photometry may seem daunting but is actually rather a small step for the imager, thanks to the excellent HOPS software and support that removes most of the complexity. This presentation is a personal reflection on the journey from ‘hobby’ imaging to serious science, and some of the lessons learned along the way.

ABSTRACT
I am glad to present our private observatory in collaboration with Exoclock as part of the project. Its main activities will be presented : those involving the public or amateur astronomers and research. We have been conducting observations for Exoclock and I will present a small sample of the lightcurves we produced, from the northern hemisphere but also the southern hemisphere from 2021.

ABSTRACT
The Open University OpenSciences Observatories provides two robotic telescopes for educational, public and research use. The two independent optical telescopes of 0.6m and 0.4m aperture are located at an altitude of 2390m at the superb Instituto de Astrofísica de Canarias Teide Observatory where they enjoy 240+ clear nights a year and 1" seeing. The observatories are used for a range of undergraduate teaching projects at all levels and for post graduate research including variable star & asteroid photometry, Gaia alert follow-up and transiting exoplanets. In this presentation I'll take a brief look at the observatories, review some of the most recent exoplanet research and look at some of the methods used to optimise exoplanet science observations with small aperture telescopes.

ABSTRACT
What transit depth is the detection limit of small sized telescopes in transit photometry? To investigate this quest on real data, we observed known exoplanets of transit depths ranging from 0.3 to 3.0 parts-per-thousands, and tested whether the transit signature can be distinguished statistically from a pure photometric trend in the light curve. We employed a 1m-sized telescopes, and extrapolated our result to smaller apertures by simplifying assumptions. We found that small sized telescopes can clearly detect the transits of sub-Neptune exoplanets.

ABSTRACT
Today Europlanet Telescope Network gives several options for amateur observers to use time in professional observatories. We will explain our participation in the Europlanet workshop at the Calar Alto Observatory and our application for time at the Teide Observatory with the IAC80 telescope for two exoplanets transit observation. Florence Libotte is member of the Board of the Sabadell Astronomical Society, member of GEOS group (European Group for Stellar Observation), and observer of variable stars and exoplanets. Mercè Correa is member of the Sabadell Astronomical Society, member of GEOS group (European Group for Stellar Observation), member of the Advisory Commission of FAAE (Federation of Spanish astronomical associations) and observer of variable stars and exoplanets.

ABSTRACT
ORBYTS is programme organised by space researchers and teachers that creates partnerships between scientists and schools. The aim is to provide school students with relatable science role models while empowering them to conduct their own original space research projects. This structure of regular sessions, inspirational role models and active ownership of scientific research is proving to be transformative; dispelling harmful stereotypes and profoundly shifting perceptions of science and scientists. It is proving to be particularly impactful for groups historically excluded from science and, since 2018, it has enabled 150+ UK state school students to co-author publications across tens of planetary science papers. While I will highlight the vast array of science being conducted by these students, the focus of this talk will be upon the exoplanet ephemeris refinement project that has been run over the last three years. I will show the results we have achieved and talk about how much easier this project is to run now that ExoClock exists!

ABSTRACT
Participating in the ExoClock project in a different way is possible. I will explain how I joined the project by participating to the logo campaign, how I created the logo, discovered the project and enjoy doing science with the team.

ABSTRACT
The presentation will include:
- Intro to the BAA
- Formation of the Exoplanet Division
- How we got started – Anastasia Kokoris’s presentation at the Asteroid and Remote Planets section meeting in 2019
- Range of equipment used by BAA members to make observations
- Contributions to first paper by BAA members
- Examples of transit light curves#
- Brief description of the Exoplanet Division’s ‘Microlensing Search for Exoplanets’ project and request to observers to make observations before/after their transit work

ABSTRACT
Telescope Live is a commercial network of 10 robotic telescopes distributed across the globe, covering both the Northern and Southern hemisphere. Through various observing modalities and a web interface, Telescope Live offers affordable access to the darkest skies in the world to everyone. In this talk, I will describe how Telescope Live is contributing to the Exoclock project, and how robotic networks can close the gap in the follow-up of the hardest-to-observe exoplanets.

ABSTRACT
NASA's Universe of Learning's Exoplanet Watch is a citizen science project, currently geared toward amateur astronomers and astronomy students at colleges and universities, to observe transiting exoplanets — planets outside our solar system — with small telescopes. A transiting exoplanet is a planet outside of our solar system that periodically passes in front of its host star, causing the star to appear to slightly dim (typically by ~1%). Observing exoplanet transits is important, as they provide direct measurement of a planet's radius and composition. Ground-based observations, particularly with small telescopes (<1 meter) constrain the exoplanet’s orbital period (how quickly a planet orbits around its host star) which in turn provides better mass measurements. Exoplanet Watch will help increase the efficiency of exoplanet studies by large telescopes to characterize exoplanet atmospheres by reducing uncertainty about the predicted timing of transit events.

ABSTRACT
The Twinkle Space Mission is a space-based observatory that has been conceived to measure the composition of exoplanets, stars and Solar System objects. Twinkle’s collaborative multi-year global survey programmes will deliver visible and infrared spectroscopy of thousands of objects within and beyond our solar system, enabling participating scientists to produce world-leading research in planetary and exoplanetary science. While Twinkle will spectroscopically study many exoplanet atmospheres, the facility will also be utilised for several other extrasolar science cases. These include those linked to precisely determining the transit time of the planet, such as searching for orbital decay or precession, measuring the masses of planets via transit timing variations or even searching for additional bodies (planets, moons) in the system. I will present an overview of the Twinkle mission as well as some of the ways that the ExoClock community could contribute to these efforts.

ABSTRACT

ABSTRACT
The rationale for this working group is to explore whether observing exoplanets through different coloured filters using small ground based telescopes provides any additional information about the exoplanet or its atmosphere. This short talk looks at some of the published papers on the subject, the results of the few observations carried out to date, and expectations for future activities this coming winter.

ABSTRACT
The use of modern high-performance CMOS-sensor-based cameras for Astronomy offers a considerable increase of potential performance at lower cost compared with CCD cameras. However, the operating parameters for CMOS sensors, whilst offering considerably greater flexibility, also increases complexity. In this presentation, we will review the original CMOS testing document, as published on the Exoclock website, with a view to ensuring that Exoclock participants are up-to-speed with this approach. We will also review the results of recent tests conducted on some of the cameras loaned to Exoclock by QHY, for which we are extremely grateful. We suggest that Exoclock participants and others wishing to take advantage of these excellent CMOS detectors, fully familiarise themselves with the testing document since there will be limited time in the presentation to discuss everything in detail. The cameras tested to date are the FLI Kepler 400, QHY 4040, 2020, 600 and 268. They have all shown excellent performance in terms of sensitivity, low noise and an absence of "glow". However, each camera requires some degree of tuning to achieve optimal performance, and to avoid running inadvertently into non-linear performance.”