Exoplanet transit search with the Westerlund telescope

• Main Author: Östberg, Nathalie
• Format: Bachelor Thesis
• Language: English
• Published: 2006
• Subjects: Physics Chemistry Maths; Astronomi; variabla stjärnor; exoplaneter; Fysik; Kemi; Matematik; Centre Point; Luleå
• Online Access: http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:ltu:diva-52527

More than 200 exoplanets have been found to this day, and the quest continues. The work behind this master thesis in Space Engineering at Luleå University of Technology was conducted at the Uppsala Astronomical Observatory. The purpose was to inspect if the Westerlund Telescope could be used for extra-solar planetary transit searches by photometry. Observations were made during two nights in the fall of 2005 with the 90-cm cassegrain telescope. The centre point of the observed field had coordinates RA 20h 51min 20s, Dec 36º 52’ 32’’. No exoplanets were found, but detection of a 1% dimming in the light intensity was confirmed. Six variable stars were mapped and periods were calculated for four of these. A total of 32 interesting light-curves were kept for further investigation, tentatively by another Master of Science student. Validerat; 20101217 (root)