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
Smith A
(2012)
Thermal emission from WASP-24b at 3.6 and 4.5 µ m
in Astronomy & Astrophysics
Smith A
(2011)
Thermal emission from WASP-33b, the hottest known planet? Thermal emission from WASP-33b
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Shkolnik E
(2010)
THIRTY NEW LOW-MASS SPECTROSCOPIC BINARIES
in The Astrophysical Journal
West R
(2016)
Three irradiated and bloated hot Jupiters: WASP-76b, WASP-82b, and WASP-90b?
in Astronomy & Astrophysics
Anderson D
(2014)
Three newly discovered sub-Jupiter-mass planets: WASP-69b and WASP-84b transit active K dwarfs and WASP-70Ab transits the evolved primary of a G4+K3 binary?†
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Hellier C
(2015)
THREE WASP-SOUTH TRANSITING EXOPLANETS: WASP-74b, WASP-83b, AND WASP-89b
in The Astronomical Journal
Wood K
(2013)
THREE-DIMENSIONAL GEOMETRIES AND THE ANALYSIS OF H II REGIONS
in The Astrophysical Journal
Enoch B
(2012)
Transit algorithm performance using real WASP data
in Astronomy & Astrophysics
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
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
Hellier C
(2014)
Transiting hot Jupiters from WASP-South, Euler and TRAPPIST: WASP-95b to WASP-101b
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Delrez L
(2014)
Transiting planets from WASP-South, Euler, and TRAPPIST WASP-68 b, WASP-73 b, and WASP-88 b, three hot Jupiters transiting evolved solar-type stars???
in Astronomy & Astrophysics
Llama J
(2012)
Using Kepler transit observations to measure stellar spot belt migration rates Measuring spot latitude drift rates with transits
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society: Letters
Mahtani D
(2013)
Warm Spitzer occultation photometry of WASP-26b at 3.6 and 4.5 µm
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Gillon M
(2014)
WASP-103 b: a new planet at the edge of tidal disruption
in Astronomy & Astrophysics
Smith A
(2014)
WASP-104b and WASP-106b: two transiting hot Jupiters in 1.75-day and 9.3-day orbits
in Astronomy & Astrophysics
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
Lendl M
(2014)
WASP-117b: a 10-day-period Saturn in an eccentric and misaligned orbit
in Astronomy & Astrophysics
Hebb L
(2009)
WASP-12b: THE HOTTEST TRANSITING EXTRASOLAR PLANET YET DISCOVERED
in The Astrophysical Journal
Joshi Y
(2009)
WASP-14b: 7.3 M J transiting planet in an eccentric orbit
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Lister T
(2009)
WASP-16b: A NEW JUPITER-LIKE PLANET TRANSITING A SOUTHERN SOLAR ANALOG
in The Astrophysical Journal
Anderson D
(2010)
WASP-17b: AN ULTRA-LOW DENSITY PLANET IN A PROBABLE RETROGRADE ORBIT
in The Astrophysical Journal
Hebb L
(2010)
WASP-19b: THE SHORTEST PERIOD TRANSITING EXOPLANET YET DISCOVERED
in The Astrophysical Journal
Anderson D
(2015)
WASP-20b and WASP-28b: a hot Saturn and a hot Jupiter in near-aligned orbits around solar-type stars
in Astronomy & Astrophysics
Bouchy F
(2010)
WASP-21b: a hot-Saturn exoplanet transiting a thick disc star
in Astronomy and Astrophysics
Maxted P
(2010)
WASP-22 b: A TRANSITING "HOT JUPITER" PLANET IN A HIERARCHICAL TRIPLE SYSTEM
in The Astronomical Journal
Triaud A
(2011)
WASP-23b: a transiting hot Jupiter around a K dwarf and its Rossiter-McLaughlin effect
in Astronomy & Astrophysics
Street R
(2010)
WASP-24 b: A NEW TRANSITING CLOSE-IN HOT JUPITER ORBITING A LATE F-STAR
in The Astrophysical Journal
Enoch B
(2010)
WASP-25b: a 0.6 MJ planet in the Southern hemisphere WASP-25b
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Smalley B
(2010)
WASP-26b: a 1-Jupiter-mass planet around an early-G-type star
in Astronomy and Astrophysics
Hellier C
(2010)
WASP-29b: A SATURN-SIZED TRANSITING EXOPLANET
in The Astrophysical Journal
Anderson D
(2011)
WASP-30b: A 61 M Jup BROWN DWARF TRANSITING A V = 12, F8 STAR
in The Astrophysical Journal
Anderson D
(2011)
WASP-31b: a low-density planet transiting a metal-poor, late-F-type dwarf star
in Astronomy & Astrophysics
Maxted P
(2010)
WASP-32b: A Transiting Hot Jupiter Planet Orbiting a Lithium-Poor, Solar-Type Star
in Publications of the Astronomical Society of the Pacific
Smalley B
(2011)
WASP-34b: a near-grazing transiting sub-Jupiter-mass exoplanet in a hierarchical triple system
in Astronomy & Astrophysics
Enoch B
(2011)
WASP-35b, WASP-48b, AND HAT-P-30b/WASP-51b: TWO NEW PLANETS AND AN INDEPENDENT DISCOVERY OF A HAT PLANET
in The Astronomical Journal
Smith A
(2012)
WASP-36b: A NEW TRANSITING PLANET AROUND A METAL-POOR G-DWARF, AND AN INVESTIGATION INTO ANALYSES BASED ON A SINGLE TRANSIT LIGHT CURVE
in The Astronomical Journal
Simpson E
(2011)
WASP-37b: A 1.8 M J EXOPLANET TRANSITING A METAL-POOR STAR
in The Astronomical Journal
Barros S.C.C.
(2011)
WASP-38b: A transiting exoplanet in an eccentric, 6.87d period orbit
in Astronomy and Astrophysics
Barros S
(2010)
WASP-38b: a transiting exoplanet in an eccentric, 6.87d period orbit
in Astronomy & Astrophysics
Faedi F
(2011)
WASP-39b: a highly inflated Saturn-mass planet orbiting a late G-type star
in Astronomy & Astrophysics
Pollacco D
(2008)
WASP-3b: a strongly irradiated transiting gas-giant planet
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Anderson D
(2011)
WASP-40b: Independent Discovery of the 0.6 M Jup Transiting Exoplanet HAT-P-27b
in Publications of the Astronomical Society of the Pacific
Maxted P
(2011)
WASP-41b: A Transiting Hot Jupiter Planet Orbiting a Magnetically Active G8V Star
in Publications of the Astronomical Society of the Pacific
Lendl M
(2012)
WASP-42 b and WASP-49 b: two new transiting sub-Jupiters
in Astronomy & Astrophysics
Hellier C
(2011)
WASP-43b: the closest-orbiting hot Jupiter
in Astronomy & Astrophysics
Anderson D
(2012)
WASP-44b, WASP-45b and WASP-46b: three short-period, transiting extrasolar planets WASP-44b, WASP-45b and WASP-46b
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Wilson D
(2008)
WASP-4b: A 12th Magnitude Transiting Hot Jupiter in the Southern Hemisphere
in The Astrophysical Journal
Gillon M
(2011)
WASP-50 b: a hot Jupiter transiting a moderately active solar-type star
in Astronomy & Astrophysics
Hébrard G
(2013)
WASP-52b, WASP-58b, WASP-59b, and WASP-60b: Four new transiting close-in giant planets
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 |