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

Georgina Dransfield; Djamel Mékarnia; Amaury H. M. J. Triaud; Tristan Guillot; Lyu Abe; Lionel J García; Mathilde Timmermans; Nicolas Crouzet; François-Xavier Schmider; Abdelkarim Agabi; Olga Suarez; Philippe Bendjoya; Maximilian N. Guenther; Olivier Lai; Bruno Merin; Philippe Stee

doi:10.1117/12.2629920

25 August 2022 Observation scheduling and automatic data reduction for the Antarctic Telescope, ASTEP+

Georgina Dransfield, Djamel Mékarnia, Amaury H. M. J. Triaud, Tristan Guillot, Lyu Abe, Lionel J García, Mathilde Timmermans, Nicolas Crouzet, François-Xavier Schmider, Abdelkarim Agabi, Olga Suarez, Philippe Bendjoya, Maximilian N. Guenther, Olivier Lai, Bruno Merin, Philippe Stee

Author Affiliations +

Proceedings Volume 12186, Observatory Operations: Strategies, Processes, and Systems IX; 121861F (2022) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.2629920
Event: SPIE Astronomical Telescopes + Instrumentation, 2022, Montréal, Québec, Canada

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.

Conference Presentation

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Georgina Dransfield, Djamel Mékarnia, Amaury H. M. J. Triaud, Tristan Guillot, Lyu Abe, Lionel J García, Mathilde Timmermans, Nicolas Crouzet, François-Xavier Schmider, Abdelkarim Agabi, Olga Suarez, Philippe Bendjoya, Maximilian N. Guenther, Olivier Lai, Bruno Merin, and Philippe Stee "Observation scheduling and automatic data reduction for the Antarctic Telescope, ASTEP+", Proc. SPIE 12186, Observatory Operations: Strategies, Processes, and Systems IX, 121861F (25 August 2022); https://doi.org/10.1117/12.2629920

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