March 16, 2017: Dr. Karen Collins (Vanderbilt University) has requested ground-based, follow-up observations of recently discovered exoplanet Proxima Centauri b. This exoplanet is a suspected Earth-size planet orbiting in the habitable zone of our nearest stellar neighbor, Proxima Centauri (V645 Cen). There exists a rough ephemeris of this target based on radial velocity measurements, so the predicted mid-transit times can vary +/- 6 hours. Therefore, it is requested that observations be as long as possible.
January 31, 2017 : The BRIght Target Explorer-Constellation (BRITE-Constellation) satellite suite is obtaining high-precision photometry of selected very bright (mv < 4) stars. Its purpose is to investigate the "stellar structure and evolution of the brightest stars in the sky and their interaction with the local environment." The AAVSO is part of the BRITE-Constellation Ground Based Observations Team (GBOT), supporting cutting-edge science from the BRITE-Constellation satellites and coordinating with BRITE-Constellation scientist Dr.
Object: 1137+27 GJ 436
RA (2000) DEC V B-V V-Rc Rc-Ic V-Ic
11:42:11.58 +26:42:17.7 10.702 1.489 1.073 1.349 2.462
INTRODUCTION
Dr. Greg Laughlin (UC Santa Cruz/Lick Observatory & Transitsearch.org) has requested help in observing GJ 436 to look for transits of previously detected and undetected extrasolar planets.
