Results of an archival survey are presented using B-band imaging of the eastern spiral arm of M31. Focusing on the eclipsing binary star population, a matched-filter technique has been used to ...identify 280 binary systems. Of these, 127 systems (98 of which are newly discovered) have sufficient phase coverage to allow accurate orbital periods to be determined. At least nine of these binaries are detached systems which could, in principle, be used for distance determination. The light curves of the detached and other selected systems are presented along with a discussion of some of the more interesting binaries. The impact of unresolved stellar blends on these lightcurves is considered.
Mon.Not.Roy.Astron.Soc. 362 (2005) 117-126 WASP0 is a prototype for what is intended to become a collection of
wide-angle survey instruments whose primary aim is to detect extra-solar
planets ...transiting across the face of their parent star. The WASP0 instrument
is a wide-field (9-degree) 6.3cm aperture F/2.8 Apogee 10 CCD camera (2Kx2K
chip, 16-arcsec pixels) mounted piggy-back on a commercial telescope. We
present results from analysis of a field in Pegasus using the WASP0 camera,
including observations of the known transiting planet around HD 209458. We also
present details on solving problems which restrict the ability to achieve
photon limited precision with a wide-field commercial CCD. The results
presented herein demonstrate that millimag photometry can be obtained with this
instrument and that it is sensitive enough to detect transit due to extra-solar
planets.
We present the first detailed kinematical analysis of the planetary nebula Abell 63, which is known to contain the eclipsing close-binary nucleus UU Sge. Abell 63 provides an important test case in ...investigating the role of close-binary central stars on the evolution of planetary nebulae. Longslit observations were obtained using the Manchester echelle spectrometer combined with the 2.1-m San Pedro Martir Telescope. The spectra reveal that the central bright rim of Abell 63 has a tube-like structure. A deep image shows collimated lobes extending from the nebula, which are shown to be high-velocity outflows. The kinematic ages of the nebular rim and the extended lobes are calculated to be 8400+/-500 years and 12900+/-2800 years, respectively, which suggests that the lobes were formed at an earlier stage than the nebular rim. This is consistent with expectations that disk-generated jets form immediately after the common envelope phase. A morphological-kinematical model of the central nebula is presented and the best-fit model is found to have the same inclination as the orbital plane of the central binary system; this is the first proof that a close-binary system directly affects the shaping of its nebula. A Hubble-type flow is well-established in the morphological-kinematical modelling of the observed line profiles and imagery. Two possible formation models for the elongated lobes of Abell 63 are considered (1) a low-density, pressure-driven jet excavates a cavity in the remnant AGB envelope; (2) high-density bullets form the lobes in a single ballistic ejection event.
WASP0 is a prototype for what is intended to become a collection of WASPs
whose primary aim is to detect transiting extra-solar planets across the face
of their parent star. The WASP0 instrument is a ...wide-field (9-degree) 6.3cm
aperture F/2.8 Apogee 10 CCD camera (2Kx2K chip, 16-arcsec pixels). The camera
is mounted piggy-back on a commercial 10-inch Meade telescope. We present some
recent results from the WASP camera, including observations from La Palma of
the known transiting planet around HD 209458 and preliminary analysis of other
stars located in the same field. We also outline further problems which
restrict the ability to achieve photon limited precision with a wide-field
commercial CCD.
The Wide Angle Search for Planets prototype (WASP0) is a wide-field instrument used to search for extra-solar planets via the transit method. Here we present the results of a monitoring program which ...targeted a 9-degree field in Draco. WASP0 monitored 35000 field stars for two consecutive months. Analysis of the lightcurves resulted in the detection of 11 multi-transit candidates and 3 single-transit candidates, two of which we recommend for further follow-up. Monte-Carlo simulations matching the observing parameters estimate the expected number of transit candidates from this survey. A comparison of the expected number with the number of candidates detected is used to discuss limits on planetary companions to field stars.
Recent wide-field photometric surveys which target a specific field for long durations are ideal for studying both long and short period stellar variability. Here we report on 75 variable stars ...detected during observations of a field in Pegasus using the WASP0 instrument, 73 of which are new discoveries. The variables detected include 16 delta Scuti stars, 34 eclipsing binaries, 3 BY Draconis stars, and 4 RR Lyraes. We estimate that the fraction of stars in the field brighter than V ~ 13.5 exhibiting variable behaviour with an amplitude greater than 0.6% rms is ~ 0.4%. These results are compared with other wide-field stellar variability surveys and implications for detecting transits due to extra-solar planets are discussed.
WASP0 is a prototype for what is intended to become a collection of WASPs whose primary aim is to detect transiting extra-solar planets across the face of their parent star. The WASP0 instrument is a ...wide-field (9-degree) 6.3cm aperture F/2.8 Apogee 10 CCD camera (2Kx2K chip, 16-arcsec pixels). The camera is mounted piggy-back on a commercial 10-inch Meade telescope. We present some recent results from the WASP camera, including observations from La Palma of the known transiting planet around HD 209458 and preliminary analysis of other stars located in the same field. We also outline further problems which restrict the ability to achieve photon limited precision with a wide-field commercial CCD.
WASP0 is a prototype for what is intended to become a collection of wide-angle survey instruments whose primary aim is to detect extra-solar planets transiting across the face of their parent star. ...The WASP0 instrument is a wide-field (9-degree) 6.3cm aperture F/2.8 Apogee 10 CCD camera (2Kx2K chip, 16-arcsec pixels) mounted piggy-back on a commercial telescope. We present results from analysis of a field in Pegasus using the WASP0 camera, including observations of the known transiting planet around HD 209458. We also present details on solving problems which restrict the ability to achieve photon limited precision with a wide-field commercial CCD. The results presented herein demonstrate that millimag photometry can be obtained with this instrument and that it is sensitive enough to detect transit due to extra-solar planets.
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