No Arabic abstract
We have started high precision photometric monitoring observations at the AIU Jena observatory in Grossschwabhausen near Jena in fall 2006. We used a 25 cm Cassegrain telescope equipped with a CCD-camera mounted picky-pack on a 90 cm telescope. To test the obtainable photometric precision, we observed stars with known transiting planets. We could recover all planetary transits observed by us. We observed the parent star of the transiting planet TrES-2 over a longer period in Grossschwabhausen. Between March and November 2007 seven different transits and almost a complete orbital period were analyzed. Overall, in 31 nights of observation 3423 exposures (in total 57.05 h of observation) of the TrES-2 parent star were taken. Here, we present our methods and the resulting light curves. Using our observations we could improve the orbital parameters of the system.
We report on observations of several transit events of the transiting planet TrES-2 obtained with the Cassegrain-Teleskop-Kamera at the University Observatory Jena. Between March 2007 and November 2008 ten different transits and almost a complete orbital period were observed. Overall, in 40 nights of observation 4291 exposures (in total 71.52 h of observation) of the TrES-2 parent star were taken. With the transit timings for TrES-2 from the 34 events published by the TrES-network, the Transit Light Curve project and the Exoplanet Transit Database plus our own ten transits, we find that the orbital period is P=(2.470614 +/- 0.000001) d, a slight change by ~0.6 s compared to the previously published period. We present new ephemeris for this transiting planet. Furthermore, we found a second dip after the transit which could either be due to a blended variable star or occultation of a second star or even an additional object in the system. Our observations will be useful for future investigations of timing variations caused by additional perturbing planets and/or stellar spots and/or moons.
We report the detection of a transiting Jupiter-sized planet orbiting a relatively bright (V=11.79) K0V star. We detected the transit light-curve signature in the course of the TrES multi-site transiting planet survey, and confirmed the planetary nature of the companion via multicolor photometry and precise radial velocity measurements. We designate the planet TrES-1; its inferred mass is 0.75 +/- 0.07 Jupiter masses, its radius is 1.08 (+0.18/-0.04) Jupiter radii, and its orbital period is 3.030065 +/- 0.000008 days. This planet has an orbital period similar to that of HD 209458b, but about twice as long as those of the OGLE transiting planets. Its mass is indistinguishable from that of HD 209458b, but its radius is significantly smaller and fits the theoretical models without the need for an additional source of heat deep in the atmosphere, as has been invoked by some investigators for HD 209458b.
We report on observations of transit events of the transiting planets XO-1b and TrES-1 with a 25 cm telescope of the University Observatory Jena. With the transit timings for XO-1b from all 50 available XO, SuperWASP, Transit Light Curve (TLC)-Project- and Exoplanet Transit Database (ETD)-data, including our own I-band photometry obtained in March 2007, we find that the orbital period is P= (3.941501 +/- 0.000001) d, a slight change by ~3 s compared to the previously published period. We present new ephemeris for this transiting planet. Furthermore, we present new R-band photometry of two transits of TrES-1. With the help of all available transit times from literature this allows us to refine the estimate of the orbital period: P=(3.0300722 +/- 0.0000002) d. Our observations will be useful for future investigations of timing variations caused by additional perturbing planets and/or stellar spots and/or moons.
We report new spectroscopic and photometric observations of the parent stars of the recently discovered transiting planets TrES-3 and TrES-4. A detailed abundance analysis based on high-resolution spectra yields [Fe/H] $= -0.19pm 0.08$, $T_mathrm{eff} = 5650pm 75$ K, and $log g = 4.4pm 0.1$ for TrES-3, and [Fe/H] $= +0.14pm 0.09$, $T_mathrm{eff} = 6200pm 75$ K, and $log g = 4.0pm0.1$ for TrES-4. The accuracy of the effective temperatures is supported by a number of independent consistency checks. The spectroscopic orbital solution for TrES-3 is improved with our new radial-velocity measurements of that system, as are the light-curve parameters for both systems based on newly acquired photometry for TrES-3 and a reanalysis of existing photometry for TrES-4. We have redetermined the stellar parameters taking advantage of the strong constraint provided by the light curves in the form of the normalized separation $a/R_star$ (related to the stellar density) in conjunction with our new temperatures and metallicities. The masses and radii we derive are $M_star=0.928_{-0.048}^{+0.028} M_{sun}$,$R_star = 0.829_{-0.022}^{+0.015} R_{sun}$, and $M_star = 1.404_{-0.134}^{+0.066} M_{sun}$, $R_star=1.846_{-0.087}^{+0.096} R_{sun}$ for TrES-3 and TrES-4, respectively. With these revised stellar parameters we obtain improved values for the planetary masses and radii. We find $M_p = 1.910_{-0.080}^{+0.075} M_mathrm{Jup}$, $R_p=1.336_{-0.036}^{+0.031} R_mathrm{Jup}$ for TrES-3, and $M_p=0.925 pm 0.082 M_mathrm{Jup}$, $R_p=1.783_{-0.086}^{+0.093} R_mathrm{Jup}$ for TrES-4. We confirm TrES-4 as the planet with the largest radius among the currently known transiting hot Jupiters.
We investigate the origin of a flux increase found during a transit of TrES-1, observed with the HST. This feature in the HST light curve cannot be attributed to noise and is supposedly a dark area on the stellar surface of the host star eclipsed by TrES-1 during its transit. We investigate the likeliness of two possible hypothesis for its origin: A starspot or a second transiting planet. We made use of several transit observations of TrES-1 from space with the HST and from ground with the IAC-80 telescope. On the basis of these observations we did a statistical study of flux variations in each of the observed events, to investigate if similar flux increases are present in other parts of the data set. The HST observation presents a single clear flux rise during a transit whereas the ground observations led to the detection of two such events but with low significance. In the case of having observed a starspot in the HST data, assuming a central impact between the spot and TrES-1, we would obtain a lower limit for the spot radius of 42000 km. For this radius the spot temperature would be 4690 K, 560 K lower then the stellar surface of 5250 K. For a putative second transiting planet we can set a lower limit for its radius at 0.37 R$_J$ and for periods of less than 10.5 days, we can set an upper limit at 0.72 R$_J$. Assuming a conventional interpretation, then this HST observation constitutes the detection of a starspot. Alternatively, this flux rise might also be caused by an additional transiting planet. The true nature of the origin can be revealed if a wavelength dependency of the flux rise can be shown or discarded with a higher certainty. Additionally, the presence of a second planet can also be detected by radial velocity measurements.