Keywords

Transiting Planets, Eclipsing Binaries, Image Calibration, AstroImageJ

Abstract

The main goal of this project was to learn how to participate and be a part of a real observational team. We worked with the KELT exoplanet search project. While working with the KELT project we hoped to be able to confirm a candidate object as a planet. However, trying to discover a transiting planet was not our main goal for the summer. In addition, we also set out to learn how to work in an observatory, operate telescopes, and process data. The different objects we observed throughout the summer were not all determined to be transiting exoplanets, but we were able to observe eclipsing binary systems. We also had the opportunity to work with data of a candidate object that was recently confirmed to be a transiting exoplanet. This recently discovered planet was designated as KELT-21b.

Description

This paper was completed during the 2017 Research Experiences for Undergraduates in Physics (REU) program. More information about this program can be found here.