Join the mission!

We strongly believe that everyone can contribute to real research and become part of a bigger project, such as a space mission. In ARIEL we have created special tools and educational guides for any observatory that would like to support the future of exoplanets. We can all collaborate towards answering the most intriguing questions of science and society: How do planets form? Are there other planets like the Earth? Could they host life? Is there any other type of life?

How can you become part of the mission?

Everyone that has some basic equipment including a telescope and a CCD camera can participate in the effort of monitoring the planets' host stars. You will be asked to create a free account where you will be able to set up an observatory profile (or more than one!), with your equipment and geographical coordinates. In this way, you will get personalised information on the transits that fit best to your equipment and your location. You will be receiving also relevant updates, and notifications for special observations. Finally, you will have the chance to interact with our team for any questions you might have and get feedback on your observations.

If you don't have any experience with transiting exoplanets, all the guidelines on how to record an exoplanet transit are outlined here:
https://exoworldsspies.com/observing

Following the observation, you can carry out the data analysis by using the software HOPS that our team has especially designed for transiting exoplanets. You can find all the guidelines for the software installation and use here:
https://exoworldsspies.com/software

You are more than welcome to use any other photometric software, however we recommend HOPS to maintain homogeneity in the results. In addition HOPS is very easy to use, fast and compatible with all operating systems.