Observation scheduling and automatic data reduction for the Antarctic telescope, ASTEP+

Abstract

The possibility to observe transiting exoplanets from Dome C in Antarctica provides immense benefits: stable weather conditions, limited atmospheric turbulence, and a night that lasts almost three months due to the austral winter. However, this site also presents significant limitations, such as limited access for maintenance and internet speeds of only a few KB/s. This latter factor means that the approximately 6 TB of data collected annually must be processed on site automatically, with only final data products being sent once a day to Europe. In this context, we present the current state of operations of ASTEP+, a 40 cm optical telescope located at Concordia Station in Antarctica. Following a successful summer campaign, ASTEP+ has begun the 2022 observing season with a brand-new two-color photometer with increased sensitivity. A new Python data analysis pipeline installed on a dedicated server in Concordia will significantly improve the precision of the extracted photometry, enabling us to get higher signal-to-noise transit detections. The new pipeline additionally incorporates automatic transit modelling to reduce the amount of manual post-processing required. It also handles the automatic daily transfer of the photometric light curves and control data to Europe. Additionally, we present the Python and web-based systems used for selection and scheduling of transit observations; these systems have wide applicability for the scheduling of other astronomical observations with strong time constraints. We also review the type of science that ASTEP+ will be conducting and analyze how unique ASTEP+ is to exoplanet transit research.

Authors 16

1. Georgina Dransfield

   University of Birmingham

   Affiliation as printed

   Univ. of Birmingham (United Kingdom)

2. D. Mékarnia

   Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique · Lagrange Laboratory · Observatoire de la Côte d’Azur

   Affiliation as printed

   Univ. Côte d’Azur, Observatoire de la Côte d’Azur, CNRS, Lagrange Lab. (France)

   Univ. Côte d'Azur, Observatoire de la Côte d'Azur, CNRS, Lagrange Lab. (France)

3. Amaury H. M. J. Triaud

   University of Birmingham

   Affiliation as printed

   Univ. of Birmingham (United Kingdom)

4. Tristan Guillot

   Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique · Lagrange Laboratory · Observatoire de la Côte d’Azur

   Affiliation as printed

   Univ. Côte d’Azur, Observatoire de la Côte d’Azur, CNRS, Lagrange Lab. (France)

   Univ. Côte d'Azur, Observatoire de la Côte d'Azur, CNRS, Lagrange Lab. (France)

5. Lyu Abe

   Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique · Lagrange Laboratory · Observatoire de la Côte d’Azur

   Affiliation as printed

   Univ. Côte d’Azur, Observatoire de la Côte d’Azur, CNRS, Lagrange Lab. (France)

   Univ. Côte d'Azur, Observatoire de la Côte d'Azur, CNRS, Lagrange Lab. (France)

6. L. J. Garcia

   University of Liège

   Affiliation as printed

   Univ. de Liège (Belgium)

7. Mathilde Timmermans

   University of Liège

   Affiliation as printed

   Univ. de Liège (Belgium)

8. Nicolas Crouzet Aachen Leiden Univ. (Netherlands)

   Leiden University · European Space Agency

   Affiliation as printed

   European Space Agency (Netherlands)

   Leiden Univ. (Netherlands)

9. F. X. Schmider

   Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique · Lagrange Laboratory · Observatoire de la Côte d’Azur

   Affiliation as printed

   Univ. Côte d’Azur, Observatoire de la Côte d’Azur, CNRS, Lagrange Lab. (France)

   Univ. Côte d'Azur, Observatoire de la Côte d'Azur, CNRS, Lagrange Lab. (France)

10. A. Agabi

    Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique · Lagrange Laboratory · Observatoire de la Côte d’Azur

    Affiliation as printed

    Univ. Côte d’Azur, Observatoire de la Côte d’Azur, CNRS, Lagrange Lab. (France)

    Univ. Côte d'Azur, Observatoire de la Côte d'Azur, CNRS, Lagrange Lab. (France)

11. Olga Suárez

    Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique · Lagrange Laboratory · Observatoire de la Côte d’Azur

    Affiliation as printed

    Univ. Côte d’Azur, Observatoire de la Côte d’Azur, CNRS, Lagrange Lab. (France)

    Univ. Côte d'Azur, Observatoire de la Côte d'Azur, CNRS, Lagrange Lab. (France)

12. Philippe Bendjoya

    Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique · Université Côte d'Azur · Lagrange Laboratory · Observatoire de la Côte d’Azur

    Affiliation as printed

    Univ. Côte d’Azur, Observatoire de la Côte d’Azur, CNRS, Lagrange Lab.de la Côte d’Azur (France)

    Univ. Côte d'Azur, Observatoire de la Côte d'Azur, CNRS, Lagrange Lab.de la Côte d'Azur (France)

13. M. N. Guenther

    European Space Agency

    Affiliation as printed

    European Space Agency (Netherlands)

14. Olivier Lai

    Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique · Lagrange Laboratory · Observatoire de la Côte d’Azur

    Affiliation as printed

    Univ. Côte d’Azur, Observatoire de la Côte d’Azur, CNRS, Lagrange Lab. (France)

    Univ. Côte d'Azur, Observatoire de la Côte d'Azur, CNRS, Lagrange Lab. (France)

15. Bruno M. Martin

    European Space Agency

    Affiliation as printed

    European Space Agency (Netherlands)

16. Philippe Stee

    Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique · Lagrange Laboratory · Observatoire de la Côte d’Azur

    Affiliation as printed

    Univ. Côte d’Azur, Observatoire de la Côte d’Azur, CNRS, Lagrange Lab. (France)

    Univ. Côte d'Azur, Observatoire de la Côte d'Azur, CNRS, Lagrange Lab. (France)