DEdicated MONitor of EXotransits and Transients (DEMONEXT): System Overview and Year One Results from a Low-cost Robotic Telescope for Followup of Exoplanetary Transits and Transients. (7th December 2017)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Villanueva, Steven; Gaudi, B. Scott; Pogge, Richard W.; Eastman, Jason D.; Stassun, Keivan G.; Trueblood, Mark; Trueblood, Patricia
• Is Part Of: Publications of the Astronomical Society of the Pacific. Volume 130:Number 983(2018)
• Publication Date: 2017-12-07
• Subjects: telescopes -- planets and satellites: detection -- (stars:) planetary systems -- gravitational lensing: micro -- (stars:) supernovae: general -- stars: rotation; Astronomy -- Periodicals; Astronomy; Periodicals; Periodicals; 520.5
• DOI: 10.1088/1538-3873/aa9603
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 0004-6280

Abstract

Abstract: We report on the design and first year of operations of the DEdicated MONitor of EXotransits and Transients (DEMONEXT). DEMONEXT is a 20-inch (0.5-m) robotic telescope using a PlaneWave CDK20 telescope on a Mathis instruments MI-750/1000 fork mount. DEMONEXT is equipped with a 2048 × 2048 pixel Finger Lakes Instruments (FLI) detector; a 10-position filter wheel with an electronic focuser and B, V, R, and I, g ′, r ′, i ′, z ′ ; and clear filters. DEMONEXT operates in a continuous observing mode and achieves 2-4 mmag raw, unbinned, precision on bright V < 13 targets with 20–120 second exposures, and 1 mmag precision achieved by binning on 5–6 minute timescales. DEMONEXT maintains sub-pixel ( < 0.5 pixels) target position stability on the CCD over 8 hours in good observing conditions, with degraded performance in poor weather ( < 1 pixel). DEMONEXT achieves 1%–10% photometry on single-epoch targets with V < 17 in 5 minute exposures, with detection thresholds of V ≈ 21 . The DEMONEXT automated software has produced 143 planetary candidate transit light curves for the KELT collaboration and 48 supernovae and transient light curves for the ASAS-SN supernovae group in the first year of operation. DEMONEXT has also observed for a number of ancillary science projects including Galactic microlensing, active galactic nuclei, stellar variability, and stellar rotation.