Observation scheduling and automatic data reduction for the Antarctic telescope, ASTEP+

Georgina Dransfield; Djamel Mekarnia; Amaury H. M. J. Triaud; Tristan Guillot; Lyu Abe; Lionel J. Garcia; Mathilde Timmermans; Nicolas Crouzet; Francois-Xavier Schmider; Abdelkrim Agabi; Olga Suarez; Philippe Bendjoya; Maximilian N. Gunther; Olivier Lai; Bruno Merın; Philippe Stee

doi:10.1117/12.2629920

Observation scheduling and automatic data reduction for the Antarctic telescope, ASTEP+

Georgina Dransfield, Djamel Mekarnia, Amaury H. M. J. Triaud, Tristan Guillot, Lyu Abe, Lionel J. Garcia, Mathilde Timmermans, Nicolas Crouzet, Francois-Xavier Schmider, Abdelkrim Agabi, Olga Suarez, Philippe Bendjoya, Maximilian N. Gunther, Olivier Lai, Bruno Merın, Philippe Stee

Physics and Astronomy

Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceeding › Conference contribution

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Abstract

The possibility to observe transiting exoplanets from Dome C in Antarctica provides immense benefits: stable weather conditions, limited atmospheric turbulence, and a night that lasts almost three months due to the austral winter. However, this site also presents significant limitations, such as limited access for maintenance and internet speeds of only a few KB/s. This latter factor means that the approximately 6 TB of data collected annually must be processed on site automatically, with only final data products being sent once a day to Europe. In this context, we present the current state of operations of ASTEP+, a 40 cm optical telescope located at Concordia Station in Antarctica. Following a successful summer campaign, ASTEP+ has begun the 2022 observing season with a brand-new two-color photometer with increased sensitivity. A new Python data analysis pipeline installed on a dedicated server in Concordia will significantly improve the precision of the extracted photometry, enabling us to get higher signal-To-noise transit detections. The new pipeline additionally incorporates automatic transit modelling to reduce the amount of manual post-processing required. It also handles the automatic daily transfer of the photometric light curves and control data to Europe. Additionally, we present the Python and web-based systems used for selection and scheduling of transit observations; these systems have wide applicability for the scheduling of other astronomical observations with strong time constraints. We also review the type of science that ASTEP+ will be conducting and analyze how unique ASTEP+ is to exoplanet transit research.

Original language	English
Title of host publication	Observatory Operations
Subtitle of host publication	Strategies, Processes, and Systems IX
Editors	David S. Adler, Robert L. Seaman, Chris R. Benn
Place of Publication	USA
Publisher	Society of Photo-Optical Instrumentation Engineers
ISBN (Electronic)	9781510653535
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1117/12.2629920
Publication status	Published - 25 Aug 2022
Event	SPIE Astronomical Telescopes + Instrumentation 2022 - Montreal, Canada Duration: 17 Jul 2022 → 22 Jul 2022 https://spie.org/conferences-and-exhibitions/astronomical-telescopes-and-instrumentation/program

Publication series

Name	Proceedings of SPIE
Publisher	SPIE
Volume	12186
ISSN (Print)	0277-786X
ISSN (Electronic)	1996-756X

Conference

Conference	SPIE Astronomical Telescopes + Instrumentation 2022
Country/Territory	Canada
City	Montreal
Period	17/07/22 → 22/07/22
Internet address	https://spie.org/conferences-and-exhibitions/astronomical-telescopes-and-instrumentation/program

Bibliographical note

Funding Information:
This research is in part funded by the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme (grants agreements n◦ 803193/BEBOP), and from the Science and Technology Facilities Council (STFC; grant n◦ ST/S00193X/1). We acknowledge support from the European Space Agency (ESA) through the Science Faculty of the European Space Research and Technology Centre (ESTEC). ASTEP and ASTEP+ have benefited from the support of the French and Italian polar agencies IPEV and PNRA, and from INSU, ESA through the Science Faculty of the European Space Research and Technology Centre (ESTEC), the University of Birmingham, the laboratoire Lagrange (CNRS UMR 7293) and the UniversitéCôte d’Azur through Idex UCAJEDI (ANR-15-IDEX-01). This publication benefits from the support of the French Community of Belgium in the context of the FRIA Doctoral Grant awarded to Mathilde Timmermans and Lionel J. Garcia. MNG acknowledges support from the European Space Agency (ESA) as an ESA Research Fellow.

Publisher Copyright:
© COPYRIGHT SPIE. Downloading of the abstract is permitted for personal use only.

Keywords

Antarctica
ExoFOP
Exoplanets
Photometry
TESS
TTV
Transit

ASJC Scopus subject areas

Electronic, Optical and Magnetic Materials
Condensed Matter Physics
Computer Science Applications
Applied Mathematics
Electrical and Electronic Engineering

Access to Document

10.1117/12.2629920

DransfieldG2022Observation
© Copyright 2022 Society of Photo‑Optical Instrumentation Engineers (SPIE). One print or electronic copy may be made for personal use only. Systematic reproduction and distribution, duplication of any material in this publication for a fee or for commercial purposes, and modification of the contents of the publication are prohibited. Georgina Dransfield, Djamel Mekarnia, Amaury H. M. J. Triaud, Tristan Guillot, Lyu Abe, Lionel J García, Mathilde Timmermans, Nicolas Crouzet, François-Xavier Schmider, Abdelkarim Agabi, Olga Suarez, Philippe Bendjoya, Maximilian N. Guenther, Olivier Lai, Bruno Merin, and Philippe Stee "Observation scheduling and automatic data reduction for the Antarctic telescope, ASTEP+", Proc. SPIE 12186, Observatory Operations: Strategies, Processes, and Systems IX, 121861F (25 August 2022); https://doi.org/10.1117/12.2629920
Accepted author manuscript, 36.2 MBLicence: None: All rights reserved

Cite this

Dransfield, G., Mekarnia, D., Triaud, A. H. M. J., Guillot, T., Abe, L., Garcia, L. J., Timmermans, M., Crouzet, N., Schmider, F.-X., Agabi, A., Suarez, O., Bendjoya, P., Gunther, M. N., Lai, O., Merın, B., & Stee, P. (2022). Observation scheduling and automatic data reduction for the Antarctic telescope, ASTEP+. In D. S. Adler, R. L. Seaman, & C. R. Benn (Eds.), Observatory Operations: Strategies, Processes, and Systems IX Article 121861F (Proceedings of SPIE; Vol. 12186). Society of Photo-Optical Instrumentation Engineers. https://doi.org/10.1117/12.2629920

Dransfield, Georgina ; Mekarnia, Djamel ; Triaud, Amaury H. M. J. et al. / Observation scheduling and automatic data reduction for the Antarctic telescope, ASTEP+. Observatory Operations: Strategies, Processes, and Systems IX. editor / David S. Adler ; Robert L. Seaman ; Chris R. Benn. USA : Society of Photo-Optical Instrumentation Engineers, 2022. (Proceedings of SPIE).

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title = "Observation scheduling and automatic data reduction for the Antarctic telescope, ASTEP+",

abstract = "The possibility to observe transiting exoplanets from Dome C in Antarctica provides immense benefits: stable weather conditions, limited atmospheric turbulence, and a night that lasts almost three months due to the austral winter. However, this site also presents significant limitations, such as limited access for maintenance and internet speeds of only a few KB/s. This latter factor means that the approximately 6 TB of data collected annually must be processed on site automatically, with only final data products being sent once a day to Europe. In this context, we present the current state of operations of ASTEP+, a 40 cm optical telescope located at Concordia Station in Antarctica. Following a successful summer campaign, ASTEP+ has begun the 2022 observing season with a brand-new two-color photometer with increased sensitivity. A new Python data analysis pipeline installed on a dedicated server in Concordia will significantly improve the precision of the extracted photometry, enabling us to get higher signal-To-noise transit detections. The new pipeline additionally incorporates automatic transit modelling to reduce the amount of manual post-processing required. It also handles the automatic daily transfer of the photometric light curves and control data to Europe. Additionally, we present the Python and web-based systems used for selection and scheduling of transit observations; these systems have wide applicability for the scheduling of other astronomical observations with strong time constraints. We also review the type of science that ASTEP+ will be conducting and analyze how unique ASTEP+ is to exoplanet transit research.",

keywords = "Antarctica, ExoFOP, Exoplanets, Photometry, TESS, TTV, Transit",

author = "Georgina Dransfield and Djamel Mekarnia and Triaud, {Amaury H. M. J.} and Tristan Guillot and Lyu Abe and Garcia, {Lionel J.} and Mathilde Timmermans and Nicolas Crouzet and Francois-Xavier Schmider and Abdelkrim Agabi and Olga Suarez and Philippe Bendjoya and Gunther, {Maximilian N.} and Olivier Lai and Bruno Merın and Philippe Stee",

note = "Funding Information: This research is in part funded by the European Union{\textquoteright}s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme (grants agreements n◦ 803193/BEBOP), and from the Science and Technology Facilities Council (STFC; grant n◦ ST/S00193X/1). We acknowledge support from the European Space Agency (ESA) through the Science Faculty of the European Space Research and Technology Centre (ESTEC). ASTEP and ASTEP+ have benefited from the support of the French and Italian polar agencies IPEV and PNRA, and from INSU, ESA through the Science Faculty of the European Space Research and Technology Centre (ESTEC), the University of Birmingham, the laboratoire Lagrange (CNRS UMR 7293) and the Universit{\'e}C{\^o}te d{\textquoteright}Azur through Idex UCAJEDI (ANR-15-IDEX-01). This publication benefits from the support of the French Community of Belgium in the context of the FRIA Doctoral Grant awarded to Mathilde Timmermans and Lionel J. Garcia. MNG acknowledges support from the European Space Agency (ESA) as an ESA Research Fellow. Publisher Copyright: {\textcopyright} COPYRIGHT SPIE. Downloading of the abstract is permitted for personal use only.; SPIE Astronomical Telescopes + Instrumentation 2022 ; Conference date: 17-07-2022 Through 22-07-2022",

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month = aug,

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doi = "10.1117/12.2629920",

language = "English",

series = "Proceedings of SPIE",

publisher = "Society of Photo-Optical Instrumentation Engineers",

editor = "Adler, {David S.} and Seaman, {Robert L.} and Benn, {Chris R.}",

booktitle = "Observatory Operations",

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Dransfield, G, Mekarnia, D, Triaud, AHMJ, Guillot, T, Abe, L, Garcia, LJ, Timmermans, M, Crouzet, N, Schmider, F-X, Agabi, A, Suarez, O, Bendjoya, P, Gunther, MN, Lai, O, Merın, B & Stee, P 2022, Observation scheduling and automatic data reduction for the Antarctic telescope, ASTEP+. in DS Adler, RL Seaman & CR Benn (eds), Observatory Operations: Strategies, Processes, and Systems IX., 121861F, Proceedings of SPIE, vol. 12186, Society of Photo-Optical Instrumentation Engineers, USA, SPIE Astronomical Telescopes + Instrumentation 2022, Montreal, Quebec, Canada, 17/07/22. https://doi.org/10.1117/12.2629920

Observation scheduling and automatic data reduction for the Antarctic telescope, ASTEP+. / Dransfield, Georgina; Mekarnia, Djamel; Triaud, Amaury H. M. J. et al.
Observatory Operations: Strategies, Processes, and Systems IX. ed. / David S. Adler; Robert L. Seaman; Chris R. Benn. USA: Society of Photo-Optical Instrumentation Engineers, 2022. 121861F (Proceedings of SPIE; Vol. 12186).

Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceeding › Conference contribution

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AU - Mekarnia, Djamel

AU - Triaud, Amaury H. M. J.

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AU - Abe, Lyu

AU - Garcia, Lionel J.

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AU - Crouzet, Nicolas

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AU - Agabi, Abdelkrim

AU - Suarez, Olga

AU - Bendjoya, Philippe

AU - Gunther, Maximilian N.

AU - Lai, Olivier

AU - Merın, Bruno

AU - Stee, Philippe

N1 - Funding Information: This research is in part funded by the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme (grants agreements n◦ 803193/BEBOP), and from the Science and Technology Facilities Council (STFC; grant n◦ ST/S00193X/1). We acknowledge support from the European Space Agency (ESA) through the Science Faculty of the European Space Research and Technology Centre (ESTEC). ASTEP and ASTEP+ have benefited from the support of the French and Italian polar agencies IPEV and PNRA, and from INSU, ESA through the Science Faculty of the European Space Research and Technology Centre (ESTEC), the University of Birmingham, the laboratoire Lagrange (CNRS UMR 7293) and the UniversitéCôte d’Azur through Idex UCAJEDI (ANR-15-IDEX-01). This publication benefits from the support of the French Community of Belgium in the context of the FRIA Doctoral Grant awarded to Mathilde Timmermans and Lionel J. Garcia. MNG acknowledges support from the European Space Agency (ESA) as an ESA Research Fellow. Publisher Copyright: © COPYRIGHT SPIE. Downloading of the abstract is permitted for personal use only.

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N2 - The possibility to observe transiting exoplanets from Dome C in Antarctica provides immense benefits: stable weather conditions, limited atmospheric turbulence, and a night that lasts almost three months due to the austral winter. However, this site also presents significant limitations, such as limited access for maintenance and internet speeds of only a few KB/s. This latter factor means that the approximately 6 TB of data collected annually must be processed on site automatically, with only final data products being sent once a day to Europe. In this context, we present the current state of operations of ASTEP+, a 40 cm optical telescope located at Concordia Station in Antarctica. Following a successful summer campaign, ASTEP+ has begun the 2022 observing season with a brand-new two-color photometer with increased sensitivity. A new Python data analysis pipeline installed on a dedicated server in Concordia will significantly improve the precision of the extracted photometry, enabling us to get higher signal-To-noise transit detections. The new pipeline additionally incorporates automatic transit modelling to reduce the amount of manual post-processing required. It also handles the automatic daily transfer of the photometric light curves and control data to Europe. Additionally, we present the Python and web-based systems used for selection and scheduling of transit observations; these systems have wide applicability for the scheduling of other astronomical observations with strong time constraints. We also review the type of science that ASTEP+ will be conducting and analyze how unique ASTEP+ is to exoplanet transit research.

AB - The possibility to observe transiting exoplanets from Dome C in Antarctica provides immense benefits: stable weather conditions, limited atmospheric turbulence, and a night that lasts almost three months due to the austral winter. However, this site also presents significant limitations, such as limited access for maintenance and internet speeds of only a few KB/s. This latter factor means that the approximately 6 TB of data collected annually must be processed on site automatically, with only final data products being sent once a day to Europe. In this context, we present the current state of operations of ASTEP+, a 40 cm optical telescope located at Concordia Station in Antarctica. Following a successful summer campaign, ASTEP+ has begun the 2022 observing season with a brand-new two-color photometer with increased sensitivity. A new Python data analysis pipeline installed on a dedicated server in Concordia will significantly improve the precision of the extracted photometry, enabling us to get higher signal-To-noise transit detections. The new pipeline additionally incorporates automatic transit modelling to reduce the amount of manual post-processing required. It also handles the automatic daily transfer of the photometric light curves and control data to Europe. Additionally, we present the Python and web-based systems used for selection and scheduling of transit observations; these systems have wide applicability for the scheduling of other astronomical observations with strong time constraints. We also review the type of science that ASTEP+ will be conducting and analyze how unique ASTEP+ is to exoplanet transit research.

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KW - Photometry

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Dransfield G, Mekarnia D, Triaud AHMJ, Guillot T, Abe L, Garcia LJ et al. Observation scheduling and automatic data reduction for the Antarctic telescope, ASTEP+. In Adler DS, Seaman RL, Benn CR, editors, Observatory Operations: Strategies, Processes, and Systems IX. USA: Society of Photo-Optical Instrumentation Engineers. 2022. 121861F. (Proceedings of SPIE). doi: 10.1117/12.2629920

Observation scheduling and automatic data reduction for the Antarctic telescope, ASTEP+

Abstract

Publication series

Conference

Bibliographical note

Keywords

ASJC Scopus subject areas

Access to Document

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Cite this