Two years of polar winter observations with the ASTEP400 telescope

• Published in: SPIE Proceedings, Ground-based and Airborne Telescopes IV
• Main Authors: Abe, L., Rivet, J.-P., Agabi, A., Aristidi, E., Mekarnia, D., Gonçalves, Ivan, Guillot, T., Barbieri, M., Crouzet, N., Fressin, F., Schmider, F.-X., Fanteï-Caujolle, Y., Daban, J.-B., Gouvret, C., Peron, S., Petit, P.-Y., Robini, A., Dugué, M., Bondoux, E., Fruth, T., Erikson, A., Rauer, H., Pont, F., Alapini, A., Aigrain, S., Szulagyi, J., Blanc, P.-E., Le van Suu, A.
• Other Authors: Joseph Louis LAGRANGE (LAGRANGE), Université Nice Sophia Antipolis (1965 - 2019) (UNS)-Institut national des sciences de l'Univers (INSU - CNRS)-Observatoire de la Côte d'Azur, Université Côte d'Azur (UCA)-Université Côte d'Azur (UCA)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), Observatoire de la Côte d'Azur (OCA), Institut national des sciences de l'Univers (INSU - CNRS)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), Laboratoire de Cosmologie, Astrophysique Stellaire & Solaire, de Planétologie et de Mécanique des Fluides (CASSIOPEE), Laboratoire Hippolyte Fizeau (FIZEAU), Laboratoire Gemini (LG), Institut national des sciences de l'Univers (INSU - CNRS)-Observatoire de la Côte d'Azur, DLR Institute of Planetary Research, German Aerospace Center (DLR), Laboratoire d'Astrophysique de Marseille (LAM), Aix Marseille Université (AMU)-Institut national des sciences de l'Univers (INSU - CNRS)-Centre National d'Études Spatiales Toulouse (CNES)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), School of Physics, University of Exeter, Institute of Astronomy ETH Zürich, Department of Physics ETH Zürich (D-PHYS), Eidgenössische Technische Hochschule - Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Zürich (ETH Zürich)-Eidgenössische Technische Hochschule - Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Zürich (ETH Zürich), Institut Pythéas (OSU PYTHEAS), Institut de Recherche pour le Développement (IRD)-Aix Marseille Université (AMU)-Institut national de recherche en sciences et technologies pour l'environnement et l'agriculture (IRSTEA)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)
• Format: Conference Object
• Language: English
• Published: HAL CCSD 2012
• Subjects: [PHYS.ASTR]Physics [physics]/Astrophysics [astro-ph]; Concordia Station; South Pole; Antarc*; Antarctica; South pole
• Online Access: https://hal.science/hal-02479506; https://doi.org/10.1117/12.925570

International audience The ASTEP program is dedicated to exo-planet transit search from the Concordia Station located at Dome C, Antarctica. It comprises two instruments: a fixed 10cm refractor pointed toward the celestial South Pole, and a 400mm Newton telescope with a 1x1 degree field of view. This work focuses on the latter instrument. It has been installed in November 2009, and has been observing since then during the two polar winters 2010 and 2011. After presenting the main science observing programs, we review the telescope installation, performance, and describe its operating conditions as well as the data reduction and handling strategy. The resulting lightcurves are generally very stable and of excellent quality, as shown by continuous observations of WASP-19 that we present here.