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C C D V I E W S #332 Table of Contents ------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1) Background We have been contacted by Dr. Joseph Lazio (U.S. Naval Research Laboratory), Paul Shankland (U.S. Naval Observatory) and Greg Laughlin (U.C. Santa Cruz) to provide support for a campaign to observe stars known to have exoplanetary systems. While none of these stars are known to have transiting systems, exploring them can still reveal much about exoplanets and their interaction with their host stars. Dr. Lazio will be observing these systems over the next month with the Giant Metrewave Radio Telescope (GMRT) in Pune, India. It is not known what will be detected during these observations. One possible result could be the detection of auroral activity around the planet(s) and/or other types of dusty debris in the system. As a result of this ambiguity, high precision optical observations are needed. There may be some events seen in the optical which precede what is detected in the radio. 2) Photometry High precision, time-series observations in V and B are requested for the following stars during the following windows:
RA (J2000)
tau Boo 13 47 15.7 +17 27 25
HD 162020 17 50 38.4 -40 19 06
70 Vir 13 28 25.8 +13 46 44
START (UT) END (UT)
17:30 March 5 - 13:30 March 8
16:30 March 14 - 13:30 March 17
Each of these targets presents unique challenges: * Tau Boo: This is a very bright star at V=4.5. As such no suitable comparison star lies in a typical CCD's field of view. PEP observers are therefore heavily encouraged! CCD observations are also possible by following the procedures similar to the PEP observers. We recommend: * Take an hour's worth of observations of tau Boo * Slew to the comparison star and take an observation * Slew to the check star and take an observation * Repeat This will be a new technique for most CCD observers. Do not attempt tau Boo unless it is clear, or unless you have a wide field of view and can image a comparison star at the same time. Feel free to post questions and suggestions to the AAVSO Photometry Discussion Group. * 70 Vir: This is also a bright star and a challenge at ~V=5 but there are comparison stars nearby at V=8-9. So please follow the same bright star photometry tips we recommended for the transit campaigns of HD 74156 and HD 37605. They can be found at this URL: http://www.aavso.org/publications/ccdviews/324.shtml#4 * HD 162020: This is a relatively easy target compared to the others at ~V=9.2. We recommend that new southern observers concentrate on this target. Charts for each of these objects have been made and are currently being checked by the AAVSO Chart Team. When they are ready, they will be posted to the following URLs: Another campaign is scheduled for April 15-17 and may involve more targets. We will issue a separate announcement for that in April. 3) Reporting Observations Please report your observations to the AAVSO as soon as possible. It is possible that someone may detect unusual activity in a star during the campaign. If so, we may ask all observers to turn their attention to a single object. Also, Dr. Lazio may need these observations for his own observing run. We request that you monitor your photometry as it comes in. If you notice anything strange or interesting please post it to the AAVSO Photometry Discussion Group or in the chat room, even if this is preliminary data. Later you can reduce your data carefully and submit the observations to the AAVSO using the normal channels. 4) Coordinating Observations Coordinating observing targets is helpful since we have multiple objects to observe during the same time window. When you begin to observe one object please post the following to the AAVSO Photometry Discussion Group:
The AAVSO Chat Room will be open for both campaigns. Stop by to discuss the campaign and observing tips. The URL is: http://www.aavso.org/aavso/chat.shtml Please keep an eye on your e-mail during the campaign. 3) More Information Visit the following URL for updates on the campaign in progress: http://www.aavso.org/news/gmrt.shtml Visit the following URLs for discussion and other information:
AAVSO Photometry Discussion Group Archives:
http://mira.aavso.org/pipermail/aavso-photometry/2005-March/thread.html --------------------------------------------------------------------------- CCD Views is published when circumstances warrant via e-mail. An archive is available at http://www.aavso.org/publications/ccdviews/ . Please send comments and suggestions to aaronp@aavso.org. To receive CCD Views via e-mail send a message to majordomo@aavso.org with "subscribe ccdviews" in the body of the e-mail. To unsubscribe, place "unsubscribe ccdviews" in the e-mail. The AAVSO has many free online publications. To learn more and subscribe visit: http://www.aavso.org/publications/email/ Good observing! Aaron Price, AAVSO Technical Assistant (PAH) Copyright 2005, American Association of Variable Star Observers
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