Project support for the Wide Area Search for Planets
Lead Research Organisation:
University of St Andrews
Department Name: Physics and Astronomy
Abstract
Questions such as ``how many stars have planets around them?'' and ``how many habitable planets are there?'' interest both astronomers and everyone else. To answer them we need to find planets that can be studied in detail, seeking to understand the processes by which planets form and solar systems evolve. Of the two hundred planets that astronomers have found orbiting other stars we can learn most about those that transit in front of their star. We can measure how big they are, how heavy they are, and thus deduce their density and what they are made of. And by looking at how their atmosphere absorbs the light of their star we can discover the composition of their atmospheres. The WASP project aims to monitor 40 million of the brightest stars, looking for the tiny dips in their light caused by a planet passing in front of them. We will survey the sky for the transiting planets that are relatively close to Earth, which we can study in detail to enable us to understand how planetary systems form and evolve. The next generation of space missions, such as the James Webb Space Telescope, the successor to Hubble, will prioritize the study of planets around other stars. The WASP project will find the planets that will make the best and most interesting targets.
Publications
Wilson D
(2008)
WASP-4b: A 12th Magnitude Transiting Hot Jupiter in the Southern Hemisphere
in The Astrophysical Journal
Barstow M
(2008)
Stellar And Galactic Environment survey (SAGE)
in Experimental Astronomy
Barnes J
(2008)
HD 179949b: a close orbiting extrasolar giant planet with a stratosphere?
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Bonnell I
(2008)
Gravitational fragmentation and the formation of brown dwarfs in stellar clusters Formation of brown dwarfs
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Clarke C
(2008)
Accretion-driven core collapse and the collisional formation of massive stars
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Howard C
(2008)
The Bulge Radial Velocity Assay (BRAVA). I. Sample Selection and a Rotation Curve
in The Astrophysical Journal
Kane S
(2008)
SuperWASP-N extrasolar planet candidates from fields 06 h < RA < 16 h
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Deleuil M
(2008)
Transiting exoplanets from the CoRoT space mission VI. CoRoT-Exo-3b: the first secure inhabitant of the brown-dwarf desert
in Astronomy & Astrophysics
Clark P
(2008)
The star formation efficiency and its relation to variations in the initial mass function
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Bi X
(2008)
The diffuse Galactic ?-rays from dark matter annihilation
in Physics Letters B
Wood K
(2008)
Emission from Very Small Grains and PAH Molecules in Monte Carlo Radiation Transfer Codes: Application to the Edge-On Disk of Gomez's Hamburger
in The Astrophysical Journal
Bonnell IA
(2008)
Star formation around supermassive black holes.
in Science (New York, N.Y.)
Anderson D
(2008)
WASP-5b: a dense, very hot Jupiter transiting a 12th-mag Southern-hemisphere star
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society: Letters
Wood K
(2008)
Infrared signatures and models of circumstellar dust disks
in New Astronomy Reviews
Lanza A
(2008)
Magnetic activity in the photosphere of CoRoT-Exo-2a Active longitudes and short-term spot cycle in a young Sun-like star
in Astronomy & Astrophysics
Dale J
(2008)
The effect of stellar winds on the formation of a protocluster
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Aigrain S
(2008)
Transiting exoplanets from the CoRoT space mission IV. CoRoT-Exo-4b: a transiting planet in a 9.2 day synchronous orbit
in Astronomy & Astrophysics
Pollacco D
(2008)
WASP-3b: a strongly irradiated transiting gas-giant planet
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Barstow M
(2008)
Stellar and galactic environment survey (SAGE)
in Astrophysics and Space Science
Southworth J
(2009)
PHYSICAL PROPERTIES OF THE 0.94-DAY PERIOD TRANSITING PLANETARY SYSTEM WASP-18
in The Astrophysical Journal
Lister T
(2009)
WASP-16b: A NEW JUPITER-LIKE PLANET TRANSITING A SOUTHERN SOLAR ANALOG
in The Astrophysical Journal
Novati S
(2009)
CANDIDATE MICROLENSING EVENTS FROM M31 OBSERVATIONS WITH THE LOIANO TELESCOPE
in The Astrophysical Journal
Hellier C
(2009)
WASP-7: A BRIGHT TRANSITING-EXOPLANET SYSTEM IN THE SOUTHERN HEMISPHERE
in The Astrophysical Journal
Tsapras Y
(2009)
RoboNet-II: Follow-up observations of microlensing events with a robotic network of telescopes
in Astronomische Nachrichten
Howard C
(2009)
KINEMATICS AT THE EDGE OF THE GALACTIC BULGE: EVIDENCE FOR CYLINDRICAL ROTATION
in The Astrophysical Journal
Smith A
(2009)
A SuperWASP search for additional transiting planets in 24 known systems
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Greaves J
(2009)
Millimetre observations of Pleiades stars: a lack of solar-analogue planetesimal discs at 100 Myr?
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society: Letters
Hebb L
(2009)
WASP-12b: THE HOTTEST TRANSITING EXTRASOLAR PLANET YET DISCOVERED
in The Astrophysical Journal
Skillen I
(2009)
The 0.5 M J transiting exoplanet WASP-13b
in Astronomy & Astrophysics
Bentley S
(2009)
The masses and radii of HD 186753B and TYC7096-222-1B: the discovery of two M-dwarfs that eclipse A-type stars
in Astronomy & Astrophysics
Joshi Y
(2009)
WASP-14b: 7.3 M J transiting planet in an eccentric orbit
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Triaud A
(2009)
The Rossiter-McLaughlin effect of CoRoT-3b and HD 189733b
in Astronomy & Astrophysics
Breedt E
(2009)
Long-term optical and X-ray variability of the Seyfert galaxy Markarian 79
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Christian D
(2009)
WASP-10b: a 3M J , gas-giant planet transiting a late-type K star
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Teixeira P
(2009)
INFRARED SPECTROGRAPH CHARACTERIZATION OF A DEBRIS DISK AROUND AN M-TYPE STAR IN NGC 2547
in The Astrophysical Journal
Tian L
(2009)
The relation between stellar mass and weak lensing signal around galaxies: implications for modified Newtonian dynamics
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
West R
(2009)
The sub-Jupiter mass transiting exoplanet WASP-11b
in Astronomy & Astrophysics
Southworth J
(2009)
High-precision photometry by telescope defocusing - I. The transiting planetary system WASP-5
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Gillon M
(2009)
Discovery and characterization of WASP-6b, an inflated sub-Jupiter mass planet transiting a solar-type star
in Astronomy & Astrophysics
Hussain G
(2009)
Surface magnetic fields on two accreting T Tauri stars: CV Cha and CR Cha
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
West R
(2009)
THE LOW DENSITY TRANSITING EXOPLANET WASP-15b
in The Astronomical Journal
Butters O
(2010)
The first WASP public data release
in Astronomy and Astrophysics
Street R
(2010)
WASP-24 b: A NEW TRANSITING CLOSE-IN HOT JUPITER ORBITING A LATE F-STAR
in The Astrophysical Journal
Anderson D
(2010)
WASP-17b: AN ULTRA-LOW DENSITY PLANET IN A PROBABLE RETROGRADE ORBIT
in The Astrophysical Journal
Bouchy F
(2010)
WASP-21b: a hot-Saturn exoplanet transiting a thick disc star
in Astronomy and Astrophysics
Fossati L
(2010)
METALS IN THE EXOSPHERE OF THE HIGHLY IRRADIATED PLANET WASP-12b
in The Astrophysical Journal
Shkolnik E
(2010)
THIRTY NEW LOW-MASS SPECTROSCOPIC BINARIES
in The Astrophysical Journal
Miller G
(2010)
The Doppler shadow of WASP-3b A tomographic analysis of Rossiter-McLaughlin observations
in Astronomy & Astrophysics
Maxted P
(2010)
WASP-22 b: A TRANSITING "HOT JUPITER" PLANET IN A HIERARCHICAL TRIPLE SYSTEM
in The Astronomical Journal
Hebb L
(2010)
MML 53: a new low-mass, pre-main sequence eclipsing binary in the Upper Centaurus-Lupus region discovered by SuperWASP
in Astronomy & Astrophysics
Description | SuperWASP is the UK's leading extra-solar planet detection program comprised of a consortium of eight academic institutions. SuperWASP consists of two robotic observatories that operate continuously throughout the year, allowing coverage of both hemispheres of the sky. The first, SuperWASP-North, is located on the island of La Palma among the Isaac Newton Group (ING) of telescopes. The second, SuperWASP-South, is located at the site of the South African Astronomical Observatory (SAAO), just outside Sutherland, South Africa. The observatories each consist of eight wide-angle cameras that simultaneously monitor the sky for planetary transit events. The eight cameras allow the monitoring of millions of stars simultaneously, enabling the detection of rare transit events. WASP has to date yielded over 150 discoveries of giant planets in close orbits about their host stars, making it the world's leading ground-based transit survey. |
Exploitation Route | Education; Data mining of public archive. |
Sectors | Aerospace, Defence and Marine,Digital/Communication/Information Technologies (including Software),Education |
URL | http://exoplanetarchive.ipac.caltech.edu/docs/SuperWASPMission.html |
Description | WASP planet discoveries formed the basis for a number of successful press releases. |
First Year Of Impact | 2008 |
Sector | Education |
Impact Types | Cultural,Policy & public services |
Description | WASP |
Organisation | Keele University |
Country | United Kingdom |
Sector | Academic/University |
PI Contribution | Design and implementation of WASP data-analysis pipeline. Design and implementation of WASP transit-search software. Design and implementation of WASP transit-fitting and orbit-determination software. |
Collaborator Contribution | QUB: Fabrication, installation and operation of SuperWASP. Keele: Fabrication, installation and operation of WASP-South. Leicester: Design, implementation and maintenance of WASP data archive. |
Impact | Over 200 Publications |
Description | WASP |
Organisation | Open University |
Department | School of Physical Sciences |
Country | United Kingdom |
Sector | Academic/University |
PI Contribution | Design and implementation of WASP data-analysis pipeline. Design and implementation of WASP transit-search software. Design and implementation of WASP transit-fitting and orbit-determination software. |
Collaborator Contribution | QUB: Fabrication, installation and operation of SuperWASP. Keele: Fabrication, installation and operation of WASP-South. Leicester: Design, implementation and maintenance of WASP data archive. |
Impact | Over 200 Publications |
Description | WASP |
Organisation | Queen's University Belfast |
Department | Sonic Arts Research Centre (SARC) |
Country | United Kingdom |
Sector | Academic/University |
PI Contribution | Design and implementation of WASP data-analysis pipeline. Design and implementation of WASP transit-search software. Design and implementation of WASP transit-fitting and orbit-determination software. |
Collaborator Contribution | QUB: Fabrication, installation and operation of SuperWASP. Keele: Fabrication, installation and operation of WASP-South. Leicester: Design, implementation and maintenance of WASP data archive. |
Impact | Over 200 Publications |
Description | WASP |
Organisation | University of Leicester |
Department | Department of Physics & Astronomy |
Country | United Kingdom |
Sector | Academic/University |
PI Contribution | Design and implementation of WASP data-analysis pipeline. Design and implementation of WASP transit-search software. Design and implementation of WASP transit-fitting and orbit-determination software. |
Collaborator Contribution | QUB: Fabrication, installation and operation of SuperWASP. Keele: Fabrication, installation and operation of WASP-South. Leicester: Design, implementation and maintenance of WASP data archive. |
Impact | Over 200 Publications |