An Honors Thesis Presented to The Faculty of Alfred University
Exoplanet Transits and the Instruments Used to Observe Them By
Bradley W. O. Keough
In partial fulfillment of the requirements for
the Alfred University Honors Program
May 2021
Under the Supervision of:
Chair: Dr. G. D. Toot
Committee Members:
Dr. D. DeGraff Dr. G. Beristain-Kendall
2 Table of contents
Cover Page………..………1
Table of Contents……….………..………….2
Preface……...……….……….3
Abstract……….………8
Introduction……….……….…..………...9
The Observatory.………..……….10
Method.……….………….……….……….12
Results.…….……….……….……….17
Conclusion………...23
Future Research………24
Appendix I – Operational Procedures for the Alden……….……….…25
Appendix II – Images from the Alden……….……….27
Appendix III – Another Method Calculation……….29
Glossary……….30
Acknowledgements………31
References……….……….……….32
Preface
The purpose of this paper is to satisfy two requirements. One, is the honors qualification as I intend to graduate with honors and the second is to write a research paper so that I can contribute to science and show that I can conduct my own research.
My fascination with space started when I was young. Physics and Astronomy have always been my favorite subjects. My curiosity with them was peaked with just how little we know about the Universe we live in. I knew, even back then, that I wanted to play a role in advancing our
knowledge of space and help us to better understand the universe in which we reside.
I was thrilled when I got into Alfred as I knew that the university had its own observatory. It was the second facility I toured when I first got to campus a week before my first day. As soon as I saw the domes and the telescopes, they housed I knew I would be spending a lot of time there. Of course, I did and have some great memories as a result.
In my first semester I was unable to take any physics classes as they all start in the Spring, so I took Astronomy 103 with Dr. Beristain-Kendall as an introductory astronomy class as I wanted to get a feel for how astronomy classes would be and a cursory glance at what I’d be learning. I absolutely loved it, even though it was being offered as a non-mathematical course. I was learning about the Sun, orbits of planets around it, the equations used
Preface
4
and constants that I would be using for the rest of my academic career at Alfred.
My first time using the observatory was in the Spring semester of 2018 in the Elementary Astronomy Lab class with Dr. De Graff where I was able to get my hands on the telescopes and learn how to use them properly.
I thoroughly enjoyed every minute of it even though we were only able to observe a couple nights out of the entire semester. As we are in upstate New York with many large bodies of water around it is clear why we have a lot of cloudy weather. This weather is obviously not conducive to the use of telescopes which can be very unfortunate.
During the nights we were able to observe, I got to learn how to use the different telescopes including finding stars by hand by using the edges of the manual telescopes as a guide and what the use of a clock drive was for and about the astronomical coordinate system (“right-ascension” and
“declination”) among many other things.
As Earth rotates and we stay in the observatory our coordinates on Earth never change (or rather change extremely slowly), but Earth’s rotation makes the stars we see above seem to be constantly moving. In order to keep accurate records of where stars, planets, nebulae, supernova and so on are astronomers applied the right-ascension (which mimics longitude) and declination (latitude) to the sky. The right-ascension is measured in hours,
Preface
minutes, and seconds from 0h00m00s to 24h00m00s. It is where the plane of the Earth’s orbit crosses the celestial equator, because of precession of the Earth’s orbit around the Sun the 0h changes over time though as do the stars to keep up with precession. The declination is measured in degrees from -90° to +90°. +90° being the north pole and -90° being the south pole. The 0° line is the Earth own equator projected into space.
Exoplanets are planets that are found beyond our solar system, revolving around other stars. There are many methods of detecting them.
While I am only using one, the transit, there is also imaging the actual exoplanet (through infrared imaging), microlensing (the brightening of a background star because of the gravitational lens caused by the planet), and transit and eclipse timing variations (these refer to the measuring of
variations in the timings of transits. It is therefore a very sensitive method.)3 The transit method is where one observes the decrease in light from the star the planet is orbiting. It too is a sensitive method as it requires inclinations that are in the plane of Earths direction. An inclination of zero means that (to an observer on Earth) the planet crosses the stars entire diameter. With positive or negative inclinations, the planet traces a chord of the star, this means that we don’t get the full effect of the transit for long.
Twenty percent of exoplanets currently discovered are ‘hot Jovian’
planets. These planets are the easiest to detect because of their mass and
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size. This helps with seeing the dip in light from that star or the larger
‘wobble’ of the star if being detected by the radial-velocity method.2
The opening of the telescopes has now become second nature to me. I am now able to set up and calibrate the Alden in 10 minutes or less and already start taking data in that time. Re-writing the opening procedures did wonders for committing it to memory as I was opening it while taking notes, trying to be as clear as I can. I even got the instructions laminated so that it could remain undamaged should anything be spilled (though drinks are strictly not allowed in the telescopes.)
An essential part of the telescope is the clock drive is a device that moves the telescope for you to keep it following the night sky, this will keep your star centered in frame. We need this because the Earth spins quickly.
Without it, your star would move out of view after a couple minutes. When taking pictures in astronomy you need to take long exposure images (up to 500 seconds and beyond) to allow as much light as possible to be measured.
Without a clock drive you would have streaks of star light across your image as the stars will have moved.
Observing nights are always more than just using the telescopes to take images. While I do monitor the telescope remotely from the classroom and listen for the dome to make sure it’s not doing something it’s not
supposed to, I am also listening for wind as if it’s too windy it’s not good to
Preface
keep the domes open. I am also working on Homework or even writing this thesis while having a warm hot chocolate because observing early in the calendar year equates to cold nights in Alfred.
I am constantly being surprised this semester by just how much we don’t know about the universe we live in. Upon taking upper-level physics courses some of the physics taught is based purely on the mathematics developed to fit observations or make the equations do what they need in order to reach a result. By this I mean the mathematics could be right in theory but then there is nowhere in nature it occurs. Therefore, the
mathematics that I am learning is a result of approximations and the best we have now but is subject to change. It’s frightening in a way, not knowing, though I suppose it has always been this way.
As of the 16th of April 2021, there are 4,375 confirmed exoplanets.2 There are also thousands of potential exoplanets that are yet to be confirmed. To be confirmed you must first get data that appears to show an exoplanet transit, then once you have something that looks reasonable you should follow up with a second detection method This could be the radial-velocity method. This is because stars do not remain stationary when orbited by a planet. The star moves ever so slightly in a circle or ellipse because of the planet’s gravity. Both bodies are orbiting about their common center of mass. If this is observed, then in true scientific fashion you write a paper wait for peer review and publish your findings.
8 Abstract
Using photometry and the transit method of detection I have produced a satisfactory light curve for the exoplanet WASP-43b. With data borrowed from NASA, I have also calculated a radius (0.86 𝑅!), volume (0.73 𝑉!) and density (2.73 𝜌!) for the planet. Through these observations I have confirmed that there is an exoplanet orbiting the type K7V star WASP-43 and inferred that it does appear to be a dense hot (due to proximity to star) Jovian
planet. The accepted quantities for the properties of the star listed above are within my margins of error. I am pleased with the results I have been able to attain.
Knowing more about these planets helps astronomers develop these methods so that they can get a clear an image as possible of the planet.
Most importantly, can it sustain life? This comes down to its distance from the star, the presence of liquid water and other essential molecules such as phosphorus (essential for the creation of DNA.)
Introduction
Exoplanets are constantly being discovered. We have enough data coming in from deep space probes such as TESS (Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite) which was launched in April of 2018 onboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket. Tess has provided thousands of possible exoplanet
candidates. We can then observe these candidates from the ground using a number of methods to see if there is a planet there.
Exoplanets are of interest to us for many different reasons- some like the thrill of discovery, others are looking for a planet like Earth. There is something to be found about the formation of the universe by observing other planets.4 For instance, knowing the composition of the parent star we can get an age for the system and therefore a general timeline. It also gives us hints about the solar nebula that the star formed from and what elements may be in its orbiting planets as a result. We then could compare them to our own solar system and look for any notable differences.
This particular field of research has already yielded many planets (50+) that could be habitable. The signs that astronomers look out for are the presence of liquid water on the surface, a similar atmospheric density to Earth among other geophysical observations we are able to get from the planet.10 The prospect of finding other life forms and potentially visiting another planet is a driving force for people in this field. Let’s look at how they are found.
10 The Observatory
The entire observatory uses keypad protection on all doors. It changes every year for security reasons and thus my code will be useless by the time someone happens upon this. Once inside I go into the warm room turn on the light and follow the procedures from the updated sheet which can be found below. I put a laminated copy in the Alden for future students to use.
The images below are of the observatory site. The Alden is in the dome on the tall building in the right corner of each image (it has the ramp leading to the door.) I took these at night after observing so forgive the poor image quality, but it gives you glimpse at what it looks like at night with the redder sodium lights. The observatory uses these as we can have them on and still observe visually. The red light isn’t as harsh as others and it’s pointed
towards the ground in order to keep the light as low as possible. Low intensity red light also has less impact on night vision making it a more hospitable work environment.
To the right is an image of the warm room. The larger monitor/TV is the main monitor on which we use the computer that controls the camera and telescope. The monitor on the
computer (blue box) is a live feed from a camera that shows the telescope. The computer monitor on the desk is the controller for the weather camera attached to the side of the building and is also used as a digital finder/crosshair generator so we can see what the telescope sees as a camera is attached to telescope.
This allows us to calibrate the telescope so that we can get an accurate hold on the sky and use it as a guide to find our target star.
The first four images below are of the Alden that I have taken
throughout the years. You can see the Alden in its different positions. The arms can tilt left and right to follow the east-west motion and then the cylinder can tilt up and down to go with the north-south motions.
12 Method
Before even getting to the telescope, I need to find a good night to observe.
To do this I go to a weather website and look for when I will have good weather with no clouds (precipitation percentage is often an easy tell.) Then on the days before the transit I go to:
http://www.cleardarksky.com/c/StullObNYkey.html where I look at the chart (find an example below) to see if it will be a clear night in Alfred.
The rows of greatest importance have an arrow pointing to them. The scale goes from white to dark blue. White being completely overcast and dark blue being the optimal viewing conditions. From the chart above you can see that Wednesday will be completely overcast and if I was planning to observe I would choose Friday as that seems to have the best optics with the darker blues.
The next thing to do will be to find when an exoplanet transit is predicted to occur. To do this I use,
https://astro.swarthmore.edu/transits/transits.cgi which is a website that allows me to put in our location and when I want to observe and then it gives me a table filled with transits. The image below shows the heading of this table with an example of the information I can see. It tells you the date,
times (ET), magnitude of star, duration of transit, an example of the curve you should see (blue line), the RA & Dec (position) of the star its orbital period and depth of transit in ppt (Parts Per Thousand.)
The website knows this because it draws on knowledge from NASA of already found exoplanets. Their data is extrapolated so that the times and dips of the light curve can be predicted. This paper is therefore confirming the existence of an exoplanet presumed to be out there.
All this information informs us when, where and for how long the transit occurs. I chose my transit based on its eclipse depth and time. I wanted the depth to be large enough to see so I would look for at least a 20 ppt depth. This means I was looking for an eclipse where at least two
percent of the stars light is blocked. I tend to look for transits an hour after sundown, this way I know that the sky
will be dark enough to collect data.
I then prepare by letting my team members know and save images like the ones above to a folder in Helios (the observatory’s 1 TB hard drive) along with an image of the finder view (right) that is
14
also provided by Swarthmore by clicking on the ‘annotated’ button (in purple on the image above.) The red circle inside the orange circle shows the star.
The field shown has a much larger view of the sky the Alden can show. When I manually put in the RA and Dec into the control application for the telescope, I then confirm it is the star by eye. This can take some time if the
telescope is not calibrated, but you look for certain
‘landmarks’ in the image. For example, in the finder image above, I would try to locate the trapezium of stars just up and to the left of our target star (I have added a blue circle.) Once found, you can tell from the pattern of
surround stars which is the target one. You then line up the telescope using a hand paddle (left) to get the target star in the center of the image.
If you refer to appendix I you will see the opening procedures for the Alden telescope. In them you will see the programs used to run the
telescopes. The, “yellow icon with black galaxy” is the control application for the motors of the telescope, it then links with the application, “The Sky” to move the telescope to the desired place. Maxim DL is the application used to take images of the night sky.
The Alden is a computer-controlled 16” RC reflector. I used a clear filter for all images so that we could get as much light as possible into the
camera; using a colored filter would limit the amount of light that reaches the sensors. We use a filter to enhance details and improve contrast of the light observed, it also helps prevent unwanted light or noise (mostly from pollution) affecting the image. I then tasked a computer program that took the measurements of the flux of star and give back data that I then used to make a light curve.
The camera we use is a CCD. It takes accurate measurements of light (photons) hitting the sensor. These accurate measurements are what allows us to create our light curves. While images are still being taken, I initiate a process called plate solving where the world coordinate system (WCS) is added to image. The WCS applies the RA and Dec to the image so the computer knows where the stars are.
In this process I choose an aperture and annulus, examples of which are the orange and red circles respectively in the finder view image above.
The aperture is what I manually set so the computer knows what area of the image to analyze. I can select different sizes and I base the size on the size of the star. A general rule of thumb is to have the annulus encompass the star and to have the aperture get some of the space around it.
Plate solving allows us to follow our star across all images as the computer can then take measurements based on coordinates. I do this one, so that I know what part of the space I am looking at and two, in case any
16
shifting has occurred during the observation. Shifting causes blurred images and occurs when you have a slow/fast clock drive (a slow drive seems to be a current problem with the Alden.) Find an example below:
This is an image of the pinwheel galaxy. I let this image run for 300 seconds to try and get as much light as I could in the image. You can see by looking at it that the stars are smudged across the image. This is a result of the telescope not keeping up with and countering the rotation of earth.
I then select our target star and compare it with another star of similar a magnitude (a couple if there are few in frame). I select a comparison star so that we can get a baseline of invariable light. This comparison star allows me to perform differential photometry.
Differential photometry is a process where the star of known flux is divided by the variable stars flux and this difference is what is then plotted.
Another reason for a comparison star is to make certain there is no atmospheric disturbance changing the measurements of light from these stars in the image. If all has gone well, we will see a dip when we plot relative flux vs. time.
Results
The best graph that I was able to produce this semester was observing WASP-43 b on the 19th of March 2021. Below you will find the information I collected before the observation:
This helped me with knowing the weather for the night, when to start taking images and which star I am observing. The entire transit was only one hour and ten minutes, so I only needed tails (images of the star
before and after the transit to provide a straight magnitude line on either side) of around twenty minutes in order to make out the curve. I knew that I would be spending a couple of hours on this. I took the data doing everything mentioned above in the method until it was finally time to extract the data.
18
From the selecting of the target and comparison stars we can extract data in the form of a large excel sheet with 60 columns. These columns include the Julian date, slice (image) number, exposure time (which for all photos is 30 seconds), relative flux of target star, peak magnitude values of each star and RA and Dec to name a few. I only needed the relative flux of my target star and the Julian date to produce the light curve.
The relative flux is what is computed by AstroImageJ and is calculated by dividing the integrated counts of the target star aperture by the sum of the integrated counts from all comparison star apertures.13 what does this mean? In a very simplistic manor, it means that the light observed from the target star is divided by the univariable light of a star that should be as identical as you can get it to the target star.
From my graph you can see the top green line is approximately 0.95 not 1 where it ideally should be. This means that my comparison star was brighter than my target and so it isn’t ideal though you can still see the effect brilliantly.
The Julian date is the number of days that has elapsed since January 1st 4713 BC. Why you ask? Monday January 1st 4713 BC is when multi-year calendar cycles synchronized, the main calendars being lunar and solar. It is used as it makes it simple for computers to perform calculations between two events. The date and time are recorded as one number therefore the
period of time recorded is one large number minus another. The number is assigned to one solar day starting from noon universal time and is always a whole number plus some fraction of that day.7
I then produced a graph of the target stars relative flux versus time.
The light curve produced gives us insight into the star system we are looking at. The fact that we have a variable light curve at all supports the idea that there is a planet that revolves around the star, preventing some light from reaching us. From the depth of the dip of the light observed we can the
deduce the radius and therefore size of the planet.
The dashed red line is a polynomial fit to the distribution of fluxes. I chose the highest order that Excel can program to. This happens to be to the sixth power. While it provides a good model for the main well of the eclipse it also shows dips before and after the main one which cannot be taken too seriously. We cannot be sure that those are there at all.
Relative flux
20
From the graph we can see that the stars light is getting obstructed.
This obstruction is the planet passing in front of the star dimming it. Before doing any calculations the mass and distance of the star must be known. As this has been previously calculated and is known the star is WASP-43 and has mass of 0.58 Ms (1 solar mass=2x1030 kg therefore the star has mass 1.16x1030 kg.) The distance to WASP-43 is approximately 80 parsecs.14
With this we can find the orbital radius of the planet. The equation needed is Kepler’s law of periods which is: 𝑝" = [%('())#$! ]𝑎+ where p is the orbital period of the planet which we can get from observation (in this case is 0.8 days), G is Newtons Gravitational constant (6.67x10-11), M is the mass of the star, m is the mass of the planet (which we can neglect as it is much smaller than that of the star), and a is the orbital radius.9
When we rearrange the equation for the orbital radius, we get: 𝑎 = /,!%'
#$!
3 which when computed gives us 0.015 AU.8 This value is key in determining whether a planet can host life as we know where habitable zones are for stars based on their size.
The planets mass is calculated using Newtons Law of gravitation:
𝐹- = 𝐺').!.8 This requires the use of the second detection method mentioned above (radial-velocity method) which measures the doppler shift which
allows the force of gravity between the star and exoplanet to be determined.
The planets mass has been estimated to be 1.78 MJ (Jupiter’s mass is 1.9x1027 kg so the mass of the planet is 3.8x1027 kg)14.
To find the radius of the planet we look to the light curve. The dip of the light observed is proportional to the square of the ratios of the star and planet i.e., 𝑑𝑖𝑝 = [//"
#]". We can get the radius of the star from using the luminosity equation: 𝐿 = 𝜎4𝜋𝑟0"𝑇# rearrange for rs to get: 𝑟0 = /#$21$.
In our case the radius of WASP-43 is 0.59 Rs (Radius of Sun is
6.96x108 m so the radius of the star is 4.10x108 m.)9 the dip from the graph is 0.026mag=26mmag= 𝛿 .The equation we will use is: 1 − 103!.'%# = [//"
#]".10 Then we get rp as: 𝑟, = 𝑟0/1 − 103!.'%#. Then from our observation:
𝑟,= (4.10𝑥104)/1 − 103(.(!)!.' = 6.3𝑥105𝑚 which is very close to its presumed value of 1.04 RJ (1.04 times the radius of Jupiter which is 7.4x107m which is 0.17 times larger than my result. This inaccuracy can be a result of
approximations we have made previously along with inaccuracies of AstroImageJ integrating the CCD’s measurements as it computes the relative flux.
From here you can go onto the volume of the planet: 𝑣 =#+𝜋𝑟,+ = 1.05𝑥10"#𝑚+. knowing the volume allows for calculations of density. At this point in my calculations, I have a number for the mass and volume of the
22
planet, I can now get the density as it is mass per unit volume. Then
*.+,-(!. 01
-.(',-(!$2* 7 3619 𝑘𝑔. 𝑚3+. Compared to Jupiter’s density which is 1326 kg.m-3
my density is almost three times as large. For reference Earth’s density is almost five times larger so I can assume that it is not a terrestrial planet.
Let’s summarize what we have found in a table:
You could then go on to do more observations of different wavelengths to find other properties of the planet. It is predicted that it’s a dense hot Jovian with a very quick orbital period. It is actually the second shortest one that has been discovered thus far.
Parameter Symbol My Value Published Value14
Relative Flux 𝛿 0.02638.8::(8.8:+ -
Radius of planet 𝑟, 0.83 RJ 0.9 RJ
Mass of planet 𝑀, - 1.78 MJ
Volume of planet 𝑉, 0.73 VJ 0.78 VJ
Density of planet 𝜌, 2.73 𝜌! 2.21 𝜌!
Conclusion
From my research I have found that I have successfully captured an exoplanet transit. It is clear that it is a very sensitive operation needing the perfect conditions here on Earth but also in the solar system that is
hundreds of light years away. We need the planet to cross the stars light in a good enough orientation that we can see the dimming of the star. You can see the effect of this in my very graph.
From the table above you can see just how close my results were to the accepted values, so I am very pleased with what I have achieved in this study. Given more time I would have loved to continue this work and
possibly discover an exoplanet of my own.
The equipment we have at Alfred is clearly adequate enough for the observation of an exoplanet transit. The only things that I would push for in the future for astronomers down the line is upgrading the cameras (even on the brand new one) and a better filter as some are scratched and have things etched on them. It’s a shame that I won’t get to use the new 24”
computer-controlled reflecting telescope, perhaps my results may have been more accurate?
24 Future Research
This branch of the field, like the universe, is an ever growing one.
More exoplanets are being discovered and confirmed to this day and
certainly for many more years to come. Unfortunately, this research requires expensive equipment, this is why astronomers go into the private research sector so that their equipment and programs can be funded. Even on Earth you can be at a disadvantage which is why space telescopes have been sent out to observe to get a better view of the universe from above our
atmosphere.
I am really looking forward to where this knowledge will lead us. Even if I don’t end up going into research like I currently plan to, I will keep an eye out for progress made and be sure to keep up with the current
astronomical field. Here in 2021, NASA recently made history with is first powered flight on Mars! It only went up 10 ft for a total of 30 seconds, but it is still an impressive feat.
An interesting thing that can come from this research is the possibility of finding other life in the universe, a question that has many astronomers and in general humanity has wondered for thousands of years. Surely there will be other intelligent life out there. We can’t be the only high functioning organisms in the universe. Or are we?
Appendix I – Alden Opening Procedures
Start-up
1. Turn on the upstairs Red and White lights from downstairs.
2. Turn on all monitors (control computer, crosshair generator and webcam).
3. Turn on the control computer.
4. Turn on the crosshair generator [Flip the switch to on – It’s the grey box on top of the control computer]
5. Go Upstairs:
a. Plug in and open the dome and then DO NOT forget to unplug the dome’s motor afterwards.
b. Let down the lower shutter.
c. Turn on the power strip on the east side of the telescope.
d. Make sure the CCD camera is running (you will hear a low hum.)
e. Take the foam blocks and yellow cover off of the telescope [use stairs.]
f. Go back downstairs.
6. Log onto the computer as dfm (no password).
7. Flip the Motor Drive Chassis toggle up.
8. Start the telescope control by clicking the yellow icon with the black galaxy.
9. Flip the Drives toggle up.
10. Push the Red Halt Motor button so that it is popped out.
11. Start Maxim DL (The first icon of three – top right):
a. Click on the camera button.
b. Click connect on camera control screen.
c. Turn on the cooler [-25 °C will suffice.]
12. Start The Sky (the next icon along) and click on the Green telescope icon to make The Sky run the telescope.
13. Flip the Auto Dome toggle up.
14. Flip the Dome Track toggle up.
15. Flip the Track toggle up. [check the dome is in the correct place before you do so – the crank for the lower shutter should be in line the with black tape]
16. Using The Sky find a bright object and slew to its position.
a. Click on desired object.
b. Click on the green telescope at the bottom of the window.
c. Confirm the slew
d. The dome and telescope should move accordingly.
17. Use the paddle to get the bright object in the center of the crosshairs to calibrate.
a. You can take continuous images by selecting continuous from the Maxim DL image screen (top right of window) To help you calibrate.
18. Sync the telescope by clicking telescope tab and press sync. BE ABSOLUTELY SURE before you press sync.
19. Turn off the White lights.
Appendix I – Alden Opening Procedures
26 Run
1. Turn off the Red lights.
2. Take your Flats, Darks and Biases if needed. (Be mindful that Flats will need to be taken BEFORE the sky gets dark enough.)
3. Make sure to save all data to HELIOS
4. Repeat start-up step 16 until you have the desired number of FITS images.
5. Don’t forget that you can always configure the autosave option to take continuous images with different filters if desired.
a. Just click on autosave
b. make sure you have the correct name (top left), its type, the correct suffix, number of repeats, and the exposure time.
c. Most importantly make sure to save to the correct folder. [click the arrow (top right-under apply) select save file path and navigate to your folder]
Shut down
1. Save all data to helios.
2. Go to Maxim DL:
a. Click on the camera button at the top of the window
b. Press the warm-up button and wait until the senor is at ambient temperature.
c. Press the disconnect button and exit the program.
3. Flip Dome Track toggle down.
4. Go upstairs:
a. Slew the telescope to it’s up-right position [use the paddle and level.]
b. Put foam blocks and yellow cover back onto the telescope.
c. Bring the lower shutter back up
d. Close the dome. (Don’t forget to unplug the dome’s motor.) e. Go back downstairs
5. Flip the Track toggle down.
6. Disconnect The Sky from the telescope:
a. Click on the red telescope at the top of the window.
b. Exit the program.
c. DO NOT save changes.
7. Flip the Auto Dome toggle down
8. Go upstairs for a final check of the telescope.
9. Push Halt Motor switch in.
10. Flip the Drives toggle down.
11. Flip the Motor Drive Chassis toggle down.
12. Quit Maxim DL.
13. Shut the control computer down.
14. Turn off all monitors (control computer, crosshair generator and webcam.) 15. Go back upstairs and turn off the camera’s power strip while performing final
checks.
16. Turn off all lights upon exit from the telescope.
Appendix II – Images from the Alden
This is an Image taken by the Alden from an observation of WASP-43b on the 19th of March 2021. The target star is the one with the arrow pointed to it. I will continue to put arrows to the target stars throughout this section.
This is an image taken when we were observing KPS-1 b.
It was taken on the 26th of February 2021. Notice the rings, these are very visible when we have clouds passing overhead. These clouds are high altitude, low-density clouds as we can still see the stars through them. With heavier clouds all you would see is the fog like nature of the clouds.
Appendix II – Images from the Alden
28
This is an image of the Orion Nebula that I took on the 26th of February 2021 while waiting for the transit of KSP-1 b to happen. It is 1,344 lights years from Earth. Even from this short exposure you can see the dust that is obstructing the stars light. This nebula is a diffuse nebula; this means that it is a very large cloud of interstellar matter (dust and gas.) The cloud
stretches a whopping 24 light years in diameter!
This is an image of WASP- 104 b, taken on the 12th of March 2021. Have you noticed something in all the images? In this image it is coming down from the top right corner. There is a column of ‘dead’ pixels
which appear in each image.
This is caused by pixels that no longer function. A new camera will need to be purchased to fix it.
Appendix III – Another Method
Glossary
30
Absolute Magnitude – Unitless measure of the brightness of an object if it were placed ten parsecs from Earth.
Astronomical Unit (AU) – the mean distance between the Earth and Sun
~1.49x1011 m.
CCD – Charge Coupled Device, a circuit of capacitors capable of taking accurate light readings in order to produce light images.
Chord – a line that connects one part of a circle to another that is not the diameter.
Eclipse – The obstruction of light from a star due to another celestial body passing in front of it in the line of sight of the observer.
Flux – The radiant power per unit area of the luminous object, which is directly proportional to the light we receive at Earth.
Jovian – An object that is Jupiter-like.
Light year – The distance light travels in one year. Light travels at 3x108 meters per second which if multiplied by the number of seconds in a year gives approximately 9.46x1015 meters.
Lunar calendar – Based on the monthly cycles of the Moon’s phases.
Parsec – Approximately 3.26 light years. It is a distance obtained from the sun to an astronomical object that has a parallax angle of one arcsecond.
Solar calendar - Based on each of Earth’s orbits of the Sun.
Terrestrial – In the context of this paper it is Earth-like.
Acknowledgements
I would like to say a big thank you to my committee, Drs. Toot,
DeGraff and Beristain-Kendall, for agreeing to help me with this project. This year has been stressful enough on all of us even without this extra work being piled on. So please accept my sincerest gratitude.
To my research partners Ryan Butler and Maximillian Raschke- Robinson Thank you for your help with collecting the data to make this happen. Working with you has been an absolute pleasure.
I would also like to thank all my professors over the years here at Alfred. Your wisdom and generosity are greatly appreciated and your belief in me is all the more humbling. Thank you.
To the friends I have made on my undergraduate journey, it would not have been the same without you. Our study/ late-night brain-storming
sessions will always be some of my fondest memories.
Finally, of course, a huge thank you to my Mum, Dad and
Grandparents for always believing in me. Auntie Aileen (The Great One), you may be gone but you are not forgotten. Thank you for all you’ve done to get me here.
32 References
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