event
Wednesday 12 Jan 2011: The WASP survey for transiting extrasolar planets
Dr. Pierre Maxted - Keele University, UK
Physics, 4th Floor interaction area 11:00-12:00
WASP is a ground-based photometric survey for transiting extrasolar planets. The survey has discovered over 40 transiting extrasolar planets to-date, more than any other survey. I will describe the design and operation of the survey and the properties of some of the planets discovered. The planets discovered by WASP are bright (V<12.5) and so are ideal for follow-up observations. I will present results of follow-up observations by the WASP team that are used to characterize the atmospheric and dynamical properties of the WASP planets.