Original Research by Young Twinkle Students (ORBYTS): ephemeris refinement of transiting exoplanets. Issue 4 (7th May 2020)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Edwards, Billy; Changeat, Quentin; Yip, Kai Hou; Tsiaras, Angelos; Taylor, Jake; Akhtar, Bilal; AlDaghir, Josef; Bhattarai, Pranup; Bhudia, Tushar; Chapagai, Aashish; Huang, Michael; Kabir, Danyaal; Khag, Vieran; Khaliq, Summyyah; Khatri, Kush; Kneth, Jaidev; Kothari, Manisha; Najmudin, Ibrahim; Panchalingam, Lobanaa; Patel, Manthan; Premachandran, Luxshan; Qayyum, Adam; Rana, Prasen; Shaikh, Zain; Syed, Sheryar; Theti, Harnam; Zaidani, Mahmoud; Saraf, Manasvee; de Mijolla, Damien; Caines, Hamish; Kokori, Anatasia; Rocchetto, Marco; Mallonn, Matthias; Bachschmidt, Matthieu; Bosch, Josep M; Bretton, Marc; Chatelain, Philippe; Deldem, Marc; Di Sisto, Romina; Evans, Phil; Fernández-Lajús, Eduardo; Guerra, Pere; Grau Horta, Ferran; Kang, Wonseok; Kim, Taewoo; Leroy, Arnaud; Lomoz, František; de Haro, Juan Lozano; Hentunen, Veli-Pekka; Jongen, Yves; Molina, David; Montaigut, Romain; Naves, Ramon; Raetz, Manfred; Sauer, Thomas; Watkins, Americo; Wünsche, Anaël; Zibar, Martin; Dunn, William; Tessenyi, Marcell; Savini, Giorgio; Tinetti, Giovanna; Tennyson, Jonathan;
• Is Part Of: Monthly notices of the Royal Astronomical Society. Volume 504:Issue 4(2021)
• Page Start: 5671
• Page End: 5684
• Publication Date: 2020-05-07
• Subjects: Exoplanets -- Transits -- Ephemerides -- Orbital Parameters -- Citizen Science -- Outreach; Astronomy -- Periodicals; Periodicals; 520.5
• DOI: 10.1093/mnras/staa1245
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 0035-8711

Abstract

ABSTRACT: We report follow-up observations of transiting exoplanets that have either large uncertainties (>10 min) in their transit times or have not been observed for over 3 yr. A fully robotic ground-based telescope network, observations from citizen astronomers, and data from TESS have been used to study eight planets, refining their ephemerides and orbital data. Such follow-up observations are key for ensuring accurate transit times for upcoming ground- and space-based telescopes, which may seek to characterize the atmospheres of these planets. We find deviations from the expected transit time for all planets, with transits occurring outside the 1 σ uncertainties for seven planets. Using the newly acquired observations, we subsequently refine their periods and reduce the current predicted ephemeris uncertainties to 0.28–4.01 min. A significant portion of this work has been completed by students at two high schools in London as part of the Original Research By Young Twinkle Students (ORBYTS) programme.