The UNSW Extrasolar Planet Search: Methods and First Results from a Field Centred on NGC 6633

摘要

We report on the current status of the University of New South WalesExtrasolar Planet Search project, giving details of the methods we use toobtain millimagnitude precision photometry using the 0.5m Automated PatrolTelescope. We use a novel observing technique to optimally broaden the PSF andthus largely eliminate photometric noise due to intra-pixel sensitivityvariations on the CCD. We have observed 8 crowded Galactic fields using thistechnique during 2003 and 2004. Our analysis of the first of these fields(centred on the open cluster NGC 6633) has yielded 49 variable stars and 4shallow transit candidates. Follow-up observations of these candidates haveidentified them as eclipsing binary systems. We use a detailed simulation ofour observations to estimate our sensitivity to short-period planets, and toselect a new observing strategy to maximise the number of planets detected.