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
Scandariato G
(2013)
A coordinated optical and X-ray spectroscopic campaign on HD 179949: searching for planet-induced chromospheric and coronal activity
in Astronomy & Astrophysics
Madhusudhan N
(2011)
A high C/O ratio and weak thermal inversion in the atmosphere of exoplanet WASP-12b.
in Nature
Fares R
(2013)
A small survey of the magnetic fields of planet-host stars?
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Smith A
(2009)
A SuperWASP search for additional transiting planets in 24 known systems
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Galianni P
(2013)
A test of the failed disc wind scenario for the origin of the broad-line region in active galactic nuclei
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Brothwell R
(2014)
A window on exoplanet dynamical histories: Rossiter-McLaughlin observations of WASP-13b and WASP-32b
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Davies C
(2014)
Accretion discs as regulators of stellar angular momentum evolution in the ONC and Taurus-Auriga
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Sicilia-Aguilar A
(2015)
Accretion dynamics of EX Lupi in quiescence The star, the spot, and the accretion column?
in Astronomy & Astrophysics
Clarke C
(2008)
Accretion-driven core collapse and the collisional formation of massive stars
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Doyle A
(2013)
Accurate spectroscopic parameters of WASP planet host stars?
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Greaves J
(2013)
Alignment in star-debris disc systems seen by Herschel
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society: Letters
Nisi RS
(2014)
An altitude and distance correction to the source fluence distribution of TGFs.
in Journal of geophysical research. Space physics
Pepe F
(2013)
An Earth-sized planet with an Earth-like density.
in Nature
Enoch B
(2010)
An improved method for estimating the masses of stars with transiting planets
in Astronomy and Astrophysics
Brown D
(2012)
ANALYSIS OF SPIN-ORBIT ALIGNMENT IN THE WASP-32, WASP-38, AND HAT-P-27/WASP-40 SYSTEMS
in The Astrophysical Journal
Brown D
(2011)
Are falling planets spinning up their host stars? Are falling planets spinning up their host stars?
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Novati S
(2009)
CANDIDATE MICROLENSING EVENTS FROM M31 OBSERVATIONS WITH THE LOIANO TELESCOPE
in The Astrophysical Journal
Fossati L.
(2015)
Characterising exoplanets and their environment with UV transmission spectroscopy
in arXiv e-prints
Bonomo A
(2015)
Characterization of small planets with Kepler and HARPS-N
in EPJ Web of Conferences
Bonomo A
(2014)
Characterization of the planetary system Kepler-101 with HARPS-N A hot super-Neptune with an Earth-sized low-mass companion
in Astronomy & Astrophysics
Vanderburg A
(2015)
CHARACTERIZING K2 PLANET DISCOVERIES: A SUPER-EARTH TRANSITING THE BRIGHT K DWARF HIP 116454
in The Astrophysical Journal
Vidotto A. A.
(2015)
Cool Stars and Space Weather
in 18th Cambridge Workshop on Cool Stars, Stellar Systems, and the Sun
Grunblatt S
(2015)
DETERMINING THE MASS OF KEPLER-78b WITH NONPARAMETRIC GAUSSIAN PROCESS ESTIMATION
in The Astrophysical Journal
Gillon M
(2009)
Discovery and characterization of WASP-6b, an inflated sub-Jupiter mass planet transiting a solar-type star
in Astronomy & Astrophysics
Maxted P
(2011)
Discovery of a stripped red giant core in a bright eclipsing binary system? J0247-25
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Gómez Maqueo Chew Y
(2013)
Discovery of WASP-65b and WASP-75b: Two hot Jupiters without highly inflated radii
in Astronomy & Astrophysics
Brown D
(2014)
Discrepancies between isochrone fitting and gyrochronology for exoplanet host stars?
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Haywood R
(2014)
Disentangling planetary orbits from stellar activity in radial-velocity surveys
in International Journal of Astrobiology
Xiang Y
(2014)
Distribution and evolution of starspots on the RS CVn binary II Pegasi in 2004
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Brown D
(2011)
Do falling planets cause stellar spin-up?
in Proceedings of the International Astronomical Union
Gandolfi D
(2012)
Doppler tomography of transiting exoplanets: a prograde, low-inclined orbit for the hot Jupiter CoRoT-11b
in Astronomy & Astrophysics
Herrero E
(2014)
Doppler-beaming in the Kepler light curve of LHS 6343 A
in Astronomy & Astrophysics
Smalley B
(2014)
Eclipsing Am binary systems in the SuperWASP survey
in Astronomy & Astrophysics
Fleming S
(2011)
ECLIPSING BINARY SCIENCE VIA THE MERGING OF TRANSIT AND DOPPLER EXOPLANET SURVEY DATA-A CASE STUDY WITH THE MARVELS PILOT PROJECT AND SuperWASP
in The Astronomical Journal
Maxted P
(2013)
EL CVn-type binaries - discovery of 17 helium white dwarf precursors in bright eclipsing binary star systems
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
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
Johnson M
(2015)
ERRATUM: "MEASUREMENT OF THE NODAL PRECESSION OF WASP-33 b VIA DOPPLER TOMOGRAPHY" (2015, ApJL, 810, L23)
in The Astrophysical Journal
Bryan M
(2014)
ERRATUM: "QATAR-2: A K DWARF ORBITED BY A TRANSITING HOT JUPITER AND A MORE MASSIVE COMPANION IN AN OUTER ORBIT" (2012, ApJ, 750, 84)
in The Astrophysical Journal
Llama J
(2013)
Exoplanet transit variability: bow shocks and winds around HD 189733b
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Cameron AC
(2012)
Extrasolar planets: Astrophysical false positives.
in Nature
Enoch B
(2012)
Factors affecting the radii of close-in transiting exoplanets
in Astronomy & Astrophysics
Baldry I
(2014)
Galaxy And Mass Assembly (GAMA): AUTOZ spectral redshift measurements, confidence and errors
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Kelvin L
(2014)
Galaxy And Mass Assembly (GAMA): stellar mass functions by Hubble type
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Pascucci I
(2010)
Gas Evolution in the Planet-Forming Region of Disks
in Proceedings of the International Astronomical Union
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
Anderson D
(2010)
H -band thermal emission from the 19-h period planet WASP-19b
in Astronomy and Astrophysics
Dumusque X
(2015)
HARPS-N OBSERVES THE SUN AS A STAR
in The Astrophysical Journal
Barnes J
(2008)
HD 179949b: a close orbiting extrasolar giant planet with a stratosphere?
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Holdsworth D
(2014)
High-frequency A-type pulsators discovered using SuperWASP?†
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Southworth J
(2009)
High-precision photometry by telescope defocusing - I. The transiting planetary system WASP-5
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
| 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 |