Running costs of the Ganymede Telescope.

Lead Research Organisation: University of Birmingham
Department Name: School of Physics and Astronomy

Abstract

The telescope will be monitoring hundreds of very low mass stars, seeking signals of rocky transiting planets. The goal is to discover those planets, characterise their orbital and physics properties, before requesting observations on other facilities to study their atmospheres. We are searching for systems like TRAPPIST-1, and its 7 Earth-sized, Earth-massed planets, which is currently the most optimal place to seek for evidence of biology beyond the solar system.
 
Description SPECULOOS 
Organisation Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Country United States 
Sector Academic/University 
PI Contribution The grant permitted the Birmingham team to join the SPECULOOS collaboration (when before it was restricted to the PI of the grant), thanks to the purchase of two high-end astronomical cameras. SPECULOOS is a project involving the University of Liege, Cambridge, Bern and MIT with Birmingham. SPECULOOS aims to detect planets the size of Earth in orbiting about very low mass stars, similar to the TRAPPIST-1 planetary system. The telescopes spend most of their time on this main project, but will conduct annex observations too. The role of Birmingham will be to curate those annex observations, and ease publication of these data. In addition the team will be involved in the telescope operations, and follow-up of any planetary candidate. Birmingham is leading the first detection of the collaboration, a double-line eclipsing brown dwarf binary.
Collaborator Contribution The partners have designed and constructed the facilities which we will use. They are provide the software infrastructure that will analyse the data and share it to the public. They are developing planet detection algorithms.
Impact later
Start Year 2016
 
Description SPECULOOS 
Organisation University of Bern
Country Switzerland 
Sector Academic/University 
PI Contribution The grant permitted the Birmingham team to join the SPECULOOS collaboration (when before it was restricted to the PI of the grant), thanks to the purchase of two high-end astronomical cameras. SPECULOOS is a project involving the University of Liege, Cambridge, Bern and MIT with Birmingham. SPECULOOS aims to detect planets the size of Earth in orbiting about very low mass stars, similar to the TRAPPIST-1 planetary system. The telescopes spend most of their time on this main project, but will conduct annex observations too. The role of Birmingham will be to curate those annex observations, and ease publication of these data. In addition the team will be involved in the telescope operations, and follow-up of any planetary candidate. Birmingham is leading the first detection of the collaboration, a double-line eclipsing brown dwarf binary.
Collaborator Contribution The partners have designed and constructed the facilities which we will use. They are provide the software infrastructure that will analyse the data and share it to the public. They are developing planet detection algorithms.
Impact later
Start Year 2016
 
Description SPECULOOS 
Organisation University of Cambridge
Department Cavendish Laboratory
Country United Kingdom 
Sector Academic/University 
PI Contribution The grant permitted the Birmingham team to join the SPECULOOS collaboration (when before it was restricted to the PI of the grant), thanks to the purchase of two high-end astronomical cameras. SPECULOOS is a project involving the University of Liege, Cambridge, Bern and MIT with Birmingham. SPECULOOS aims to detect planets the size of Earth in orbiting about very low mass stars, similar to the TRAPPIST-1 planetary system. The telescopes spend most of their time on this main project, but will conduct annex observations too. The role of Birmingham will be to curate those annex observations, and ease publication of these data. In addition the team will be involved in the telescope operations, and follow-up of any planetary candidate. Birmingham is leading the first detection of the collaboration, a double-line eclipsing brown dwarf binary.
Collaborator Contribution The partners have designed and constructed the facilities which we will use. They are provide the software infrastructure that will analyse the data and share it to the public. They are developing planet detection algorithms.
Impact later
Start Year 2016
 
Description SPECULOOS 
Organisation University of Liege
Country Belgium 
Sector Academic/University 
PI Contribution The grant permitted the Birmingham team to join the SPECULOOS collaboration (when before it was restricted to the PI of the grant), thanks to the purchase of two high-end astronomical cameras. SPECULOOS is a project involving the University of Liege, Cambridge, Bern and MIT with Birmingham. SPECULOOS aims to detect planets the size of Earth in orbiting about very low mass stars, similar to the TRAPPIST-1 planetary system. The telescopes spend most of their time on this main project, but will conduct annex observations too. The role of Birmingham will be to curate those annex observations, and ease publication of these data. In addition the team will be involved in the telescope operations, and follow-up of any planetary candidate. Birmingham is leading the first detection of the collaboration, a double-line eclipsing brown dwarf binary.
Collaborator Contribution The partners have designed and constructed the facilities which we will use. They are provide the software infrastructure that will analyse the data and share it to the public. They are developing planet detection algorithms.
Impact later
Start Year 2016
 
Description Birmingham telescope discovers two new temperate rocky worlds 
Form Of Engagement Activity A press release, press conference or response to a media enquiry/interview
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach International
Primary Audience Media (as a channel to the public)
Results and Impact This was a press release to announce the discovery of a new planetary system, hosting a habitable zone Earth like planet. This is the second most optimal to study its atmospheric properties, a key component in the search for life elsewhere.
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2022
URL https://www.birmingham.ac.uk/news/2022/birmingham-telescope-discovers-two-new-temperate-rocky-worlds