Related papers: Astronomy with Small Telescopes
A relatively unexplored phase space of transients and stellar variability is that of second and sub-second time-scales. We describe a new optical observatory operating in the Negev desert in Israel, with a 55 cm aperture, a field of view of…
We present a short progress report of a comprehensive search for variability in the globular cluster 47 Tucanae. Using the MSSSO 40'' telescope and a combined V+R filter, we are searching for variability across a 52x52' field centered on…
High-precision radial velocity planet searches have surveyed over ~2000 nearby stars and detected over ~200 planets. While these same stars likely harbor many additional planets, they will become increasingly challenging to detect, as they…
The Australian Square Kilometre Array Pathfinder (ASKAP) will give us an unprecedented opportunity to investigate the transient sky at radio wavelengths. In this paper we present VAST, an ASKAP survey for Variables and Slow Transients. VAST…
We report on the search for planets orbiting 46 nearby young stars performed at the State Observatory of Turingia (TLS) by means of a radial velocity survey. The aim of this program is to test the theories of formation/evolution of…
We describe a project (transitsearch.org) currently attempting to discover transiting intermediate-period planets orbiting bright parent stars, and we simulate that project's performance. The discovery of such a transit would be an…
We present the results of a four-month campaign searching for low-frequency radio transients near the North Celestial Pole with the Low-Frequency Array (LOFAR), as part of the Multifrequency Snapshot Sky Survey (MSSS). The data were…
High-contrast adaptive optics imaging is a powerful technique to probe the architectures of planetary systems from the outside-in and survey the atmospheres of self-luminous giant planets. Direct imaging has rapidly matured over the past…
The ACS Survey of Globular Clusters has used HST's Wide-Field Channel to obtain uniform imaging of 65 of the nearest globular clusters to provide an extensive homogeneous dataset for a broad range of scientific investigations. The survey…
Photometric data from the ASAS - South (declination less than 29 deg) survey have been used for identification of bright stars located near the sources from the ROSAT All Sky Survey Bright Source Catalog (RBSC). In total 6028 stars brighter…
Since 2008 we have run an observational program to accurately measure the characteristics of known exoplanet systems hosting close-in transiting giant planets, i.e. hot Jupiters. Our study is based on high-quality photometric follow-up…
We present more than 80 new variable stars discovered during the first observing season of the APACHE survey. APACHE is a project aimed at detecting extrasolar planets transiting nearby, bright M dwarfs by using an array of small-aperture…
To extend LSST's coverage of the transient and variable sky down to minute timescales, we propose that observations of the Deep Drilling Fields are acquired in sequences of continuous exposures each lasting 2--4 hours. This will allow LSST…
Space astrometry is capable of sub-microarcsecond measurements of star positions. A hundred visits over several years could yield relative astrometric precision of ~0.1 uas, below the astrometric signature (0.3 uas) of a Sun-Earth system at…
White dwarfs are one of the few types of stellar objects for which we know almost nothing about the possible existence of companion planets. Recent evidence for metal contaminated atmospheres, circumstellar debris disks and transiting…
Large-area surveys operating at mid-infrared wavelengths have proven to be a valuable means of discovering and characterizing minor planets. Through the use of radiometric models, it is possible to derive physical properties such as…
Gaia is the cornerstone mission of the European Space Agency. From late 2013 it will start collecting superb astrometric, photometric and spectroscopic data for around a billion of stars of our Galaxy. While surveying the whole sky down to…
We discuss measurements of the properties of about 10,000 asteroids detected in 500 deg2 of sky in the Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS) commissioning data. The moving objects are detected in the magnitude range 14 < r < 21.5, with a baseline…
In the companion paper we began the task of systematically studying the detection of planets in wide orbits ($a > 1.5 R_E$) via microlensing surveys. In this paper we continue, focusing on repeating events. We find that, if all planetary…
The Pan-Planets survey observed an area of 42 sq deg. in the galactic disk for about 165 hours. The main scientific goal of the project is the detection of transiting planets around M dwarfs. We establish an efficient procedure for…