Observing exoplanets from Antarctica in two colours: set-up and operation of ASTEP+

ASTEP+; Amaury Triaud; Georgina Dransfield

doi:10.1117/12.2628952

Observing exoplanets from Antarctica in two colours: set-up and operation of ASTEP+

ASTEP+, Amaury Triaud, Georgina Dransfield

Physics and Astronomy

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

Abstract

On December 2021, a new camera box for two-colour simultaneous visible photometry was successfully installed on the ASTEP telescope at the Concordia station in Antarctica. The new focal box offers increased capabilities for the ASTEP+ project. The opto-mechanical design of the camera was described in a previous paper.1 Here, we focus on the laboratory tests of each of the two cameras, the low-temperature behaviour of the focal box in a thermal chamber, the on-site installation and alignment of the new focal box on the telescope, the measurement of the turbulence in the tube and the operation of the telescope equipped with the new focal box. We also describe the data acquisition and the telescope guiding procedure and provide a first assessment of the performances reached during the first part of the 2022 observation campaign. Observations of the WASP19 field, already observed previously with ASTEP, demonstrates an improvement of the SNR by a factor 1.7, coherent with an increased number of photon by a factor of 3. The throughput of the two cameras is assessed both by calculation of the characteristics of the optics and quantum efficiency of the cameras, and by direct observations on the sky. We find that the ASTEP+ two-colour transmission curves (with a dichroic separating the fluxes at 690nm) are similar to those of GAIA in the blue and red channels, but with a lower transmission in the ASTEP+ red channel leading to a 1.5 magnitude higher B-R value compared to the GAIA B-R value. With this new setting, the ASTEP+ telescope will ensure the follow-up and the characterization of a large number of exoplanetary transits in the coming years in view of the future space missions JWST and Ariel.

Original language	English
Title of host publication	PROCEEDINGS OF SPIE
Subtitle of host publication	Ground-based and Airborne Telescopes IX
Publisher	SPIE
Volume	12182
ISBN (Electronic)	9781510653467
ISBN (Print)	9781510653450
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1117/12.2628952
Publication status	Published - 26 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	12182
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:
ASTEP and ASTEP+ have benefited from the support of the French and Italian polar agencies IPEV and PNRA, and by the Universite Ĉote d'Azur through Idex UCAJEDI (ANR-15-IDEX-01). We acknowledge support from the European Space Agency (ESA) through the Science Faculty of the European Space Research and Technology Centre (ESTEC). The realisation and installation of the new ASTEP+ focal box was possible thanks to the support of ESA ESTEC and in part funded by the European Union's Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme (grants agreements no 803193/BEBOP), from the Science and Technology Facilities Council (STFC; grant n? ST/S00193X/1), from INSU, and from the laboratoire Lagrange (CNRS UMR 7293).

Publisher Copyright:
© 2022 SPIE.

Keywords

Antarctica
Concordia station
Exoplanets
TESS
photometry
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

10.1117/12.2628952Licence: None: All rights reserved

Cite this

@inproceedings{3c17a8a332944ba5bf2d1bb5013c478a,

title = "Observing exoplanets from Antarctica in two colours: set-up and operation of ASTEP+",

abstract = "On December 2021, a new camera box for two-colour simultaneous visible photometry was successfully installed on the ASTEP telescope at the Concordia station in Antarctica. The new focal box offers increased capabilities for the ASTEP+ project. The opto-mechanical design of the camera was described in a previous paper.1 Here, we focus on the laboratory tests of each of the two cameras, the low-temperature behaviour of the focal box in a thermal chamber, the on-site installation and alignment of the new focal box on the telescope, the measurement of the turbulence in the tube and the operation of the telescope equipped with the new focal box. We also describe the data acquisition and the telescope guiding procedure and provide a first assessment of the performances reached during the first part of the 2022 observation campaign. Observations of the WASP19 field, already observed previously with ASTEP, demonstrates an improvement of the SNR by a factor 1.7, coherent with an increased number of photon by a factor of 3. The throughput of the two cameras is assessed both by calculation of the characteristics of the optics and quantum efficiency of the cameras, and by direct observations on the sky. We find that the ASTEP+ two-colour transmission curves (with a dichroic separating the fluxes at 690nm) are similar to those of GAIA in the blue and red channels, but with a lower transmission in the ASTEP+ red channel leading to a 1.5 magnitude higher B-R value compared to the GAIA B-R value. With this new setting, the ASTEP+ telescope will ensure the follow-up and the characterization of a large number of exoplanetary transits in the coming years in view of the future space missions JWST and Ariel.",

keywords = "Antarctica, Concordia station, Exoplanets, TESS, photometry, transit",

author = "ASTEP+ and Amaury Triaud and Georgina Dransfield",

note = "Funding Information: ASTEP and ASTEP+ have benefited from the support of the French and Italian polar agencies IPEV and PNRA, and by the Universite Ĉote d'Azur through Idex UCAJEDI (ANR-15-IDEX-01). We acknowledge support from the European Space Agency (ESA) through the Science Faculty of the European Space Research and Technology Centre (ESTEC). The realisation and installation of the new ASTEP+ focal box was possible thanks to the support of ESA ESTEC and in part funded by the European Union's Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme (grants agreements no 803193/BEBOP), from the Science and Technology Facilities Council (STFC; grant n? ST/S00193X/1), from INSU, and from the laboratoire Lagrange (CNRS UMR 7293). Publisher Copyright: {\textcopyright} 2022 SPIE.; SPIE Astronomical Telescopes + Instrumentation 2022 ; Conference date: 17-07-2022 Through 22-07-2022",

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ASTEP+, Triaud, A & Dransfield, G 2022, Observing exoplanets from Antarctica in two colours: set-up and operation of ASTEP+. in PROCEEDINGS OF SPIE: Ground-based and Airborne Telescopes IX. vol. 12182, 121822O, Proceedings of SPIE, vol. 12182, SPIE, SPIE Astronomical Telescopes + Instrumentation 2022, Montreal, Quebec, Canada, 17/07/22. https://doi.org/10.1117/12.2628952

TY - GEN

T1 - Observing exoplanets from Antarctica in two colours

T2 - SPIE Astronomical Telescopes + Instrumentation 2022

AU - ASTEP+

AU - Triaud, Amaury

AU - Dransfield, Georgina

N1 - Funding Information: ASTEP and ASTEP+ have benefited from the support of the French and Italian polar agencies IPEV and PNRA, and by the Universite Ĉote d'Azur through Idex UCAJEDI (ANR-15-IDEX-01). We acknowledge support from the European Space Agency (ESA) through the Science Faculty of the European Space Research and Technology Centre (ESTEC). The realisation and installation of the new ASTEP+ focal box was possible thanks to the support of ESA ESTEC and in part funded by the European Union's Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme (grants agreements no 803193/BEBOP), from the Science and Technology Facilities Council (STFC; grant n? ST/S00193X/1), from INSU, and from the laboratoire Lagrange (CNRS UMR 7293). Publisher Copyright: © 2022 SPIE.

PY - 2022/8/26

Y1 - 2022/8/26

N2 - On December 2021, a new camera box for two-colour simultaneous visible photometry was successfully installed on the ASTEP telescope at the Concordia station in Antarctica. The new focal box offers increased capabilities for the ASTEP+ project. The opto-mechanical design of the camera was described in a previous paper.1 Here, we focus on the laboratory tests of each of the two cameras, the low-temperature behaviour of the focal box in a thermal chamber, the on-site installation and alignment of the new focal box on the telescope, the measurement of the turbulence in the tube and the operation of the telescope equipped with the new focal box. We also describe the data acquisition and the telescope guiding procedure and provide a first assessment of the performances reached during the first part of the 2022 observation campaign. Observations of the WASP19 field, already observed previously with ASTEP, demonstrates an improvement of the SNR by a factor 1.7, coherent with an increased number of photon by a factor of 3. The throughput of the two cameras is assessed both by calculation of the characteristics of the optics and quantum efficiency of the cameras, and by direct observations on the sky. We find that the ASTEP+ two-colour transmission curves (with a dichroic separating the fluxes at 690nm) are similar to those of GAIA in the blue and red channels, but with a lower transmission in the ASTEP+ red channel leading to a 1.5 magnitude higher B-R value compared to the GAIA B-R value. With this new setting, the ASTEP+ telescope will ensure the follow-up and the characterization of a large number of exoplanetary transits in the coming years in view of the future space missions JWST and Ariel.

AB - On December 2021, a new camera box for two-colour simultaneous visible photometry was successfully installed on the ASTEP telescope at the Concordia station in Antarctica. The new focal box offers increased capabilities for the ASTEP+ project. The opto-mechanical design of the camera was described in a previous paper.1 Here, we focus on the laboratory tests of each of the two cameras, the low-temperature behaviour of the focal box in a thermal chamber, the on-site installation and alignment of the new focal box on the telescope, the measurement of the turbulence in the tube and the operation of the telescope equipped with the new focal box. We also describe the data acquisition and the telescope guiding procedure and provide a first assessment of the performances reached during the first part of the 2022 observation campaign. Observations of the WASP19 field, already observed previously with ASTEP, demonstrates an improvement of the SNR by a factor 1.7, coherent with an increased number of photon by a factor of 3. The throughput of the two cameras is assessed both by calculation of the characteristics of the optics and quantum efficiency of the cameras, and by direct observations on the sky. We find that the ASTEP+ two-colour transmission curves (with a dichroic separating the fluxes at 690nm) are similar to those of GAIA in the blue and red channels, but with a lower transmission in the ASTEP+ red channel leading to a 1.5 magnitude higher B-R value compared to the GAIA B-R value. With this new setting, the ASTEP+ telescope will ensure the follow-up and the characterization of a large number of exoplanetary transits in the coming years in view of the future space missions JWST and Ariel.

KW - Antarctica

KW - Concordia station

KW - Exoplanets

KW - TESS

KW - photometry

KW - transit

UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85140044642&partnerID=8YFLogxK

U2 - 10.1117/12.2628952

DO - 10.1117/12.2628952

M3 - Conference contribution

SN - 9781510653450

VL - 12182

T3 - Proceedings of SPIE

BT - PROCEEDINGS OF SPIE

PB - SPIE

Y2 - 17 July 2022 through 22 July 2022

ER -

Observing exoplanets from Antarctica in two colours: set-up and operation of ASTEP+

Abstract

Publication series

Conference

Bibliographical note

Keywords

ASJC Scopus subject areas

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