The Next Generation Transit Survey (NGTS)

Peter J. Wheatley; Richard G. West; Michael R. Goad; James S. Jenkins; Don L. Pollacco; Didier Queloz; Heike Rauer; Stéphane Udry; Christopher A. Watson; Bruno Chazelas; Philipp Eigmüller; Gregory Lambert; Ludovic Genolet; James McCormac; Simon Walker; David J. Armstrong; Daniel Bayliss; Joao Bento; François Bouchy; Matthew R. Burleigh; Juan Cabrera; Sarah L. Casewell; Alexander Chaushev; Paul Chote; Szilárd Csizmadia; Anders Erikson; Francesca Faedi; Emma Foxell; Boris T. Gänsicke; Edward Gillen; Andrew Grange; Maximilian N. Günther; Simon T. Hodgkin; James Jackman; Andrés Jordán; Tom Louden; Lionel Metrailler; Maximiliano Moyano; Louise D. Nielsen; Hugh P. Osborn; Katja Poppenhaeger; Roberto Raddi; Liam Raynard; Alexis M.S. Smith; Maritza Soto; Ruth Titz-Weider

doi:10.1093/mnras/stx2836

The Next Generation Transit Survey (NGTS)

Peter J. Wheatley, Richard G. West, Michael R. Goad, James S. Jenkins, Don L. Pollacco, Didier Queloz, Heike Rauer, Stéphane Udry, Christopher A. Watson, Bruno Chazelas, Philipp Eigmüller, Gregory Lambert, Ludovic Genolet, James McCormac, Simon Walker, David J. Armstrong, Daniel Bayliss, Joao Bento, François Bouchy, Matthew R. BurleighJuan Cabrera, Sarah L. Casewell, Alexander Chaushev, Paul Chote, Szilárd Csizmadia, Anders Erikson, Francesca Faedi, Emma Foxell, Boris T. Gänsicke, Edward Gillen, Andrew Grange, Maximilian N. Günther, Simon T. Hodgkin, James Jackman, Andrés Jordán, Tom Louden, Lionel Metrailler, Maximiliano Moyano, Louise D. Nielsen, Hugh P. Osborn, Katja Poppenhaeger, Roberto Raddi, Liam Raynard, Alexis M.S. Smith, Maritza Soto, Ruth Titz-Weider

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Abstract

We describe the Next Generation Transit Survey (NGTS), which is a ground-based project searching for transiting exoplanets orbiting bright stars. NGTS builds on the legacy of previous surveys, most notably WASP, and is designed to achieve higher photometric precision and hence find smaller planets than have previously been detected from the ground. It also operates in red light,maximizing sensitivity to late K and earlyMdwarf stars. The survey specifications call for photometric precision of 0.1 per cent in red light over an instantaneous field of view of 100 deg², enabling the detection of Neptune-sized exoplanets around Sun-like stars and super-Earths around M dwarfs. The survey is carried out with a purpose-built facility at Cerro Paranal, Chile, which is the premier site of the European Southern Observatory (ESO). An array of twelve 20 cm f/2.8 telescopes fitted with back-illuminated deep-depletion CCD cameras is used to survey fields intensively at intermediateGalactic latitudes. The instrument is also ideally suited to ground-based photometric follow-up of exoplanet candidates from space telescopes such as TESS, Gaia and PLATO. We present observations that combine precise autoguiding and the superb observing conditions at Paranal to provide routine photometric precision of 0.1 per cent in 1 h for stars with I-band magnitudes brighter than 13. We describe the instrument and data analysis methods as well as the status of the survey, which achieved first light in 2015 and began full-survey operations in 2016. NGTS data will be made publicly available through the ESO archive.

Original language	English
Pages (from-to)	4476-4493
Number of pages	18
Journal	Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Volume	475
Issue number	4
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1093/mnras/stx2836
State	Published - 21 Apr 2018
Externally published	Yes

Keywords

Atmospheric effects
Instrumentation: photometers
Planetary systems
Planets and satellites: detection
Surveys
Techniques: photometric

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10.1093/mnras/stx2836

Cite this

Wheatley, P. J., West, R. G., Goad, M. R., Jenkins, J. S., Pollacco, D. L., Queloz, D., Rauer, H., Udry, S., Watson, C. A., Chazelas, B., Eigmüller, P., Lambert, G., Genolet, L., McCormac, J., Walker, S., Armstrong, D. J., Bayliss, D., Bento, J., Bouchy, F., ... Titz-Weider, R. (2018). The Next Generation Transit Survey (NGTS). Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society, 475(4), 4476-4493. https://doi.org/10.1093/mnras/stx2836

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abstract = "We describe the Next Generation Transit Survey (NGTS), which is a ground-based project searching for transiting exoplanets orbiting bright stars. NGTS builds on the legacy of previous surveys, most notably WASP, and is designed to achieve higher photometric precision and hence find smaller planets than have previously been detected from the ground. It also operates in red light,maximizing sensitivity to late K and earlyMdwarf stars. The survey specifications call for photometric precision of 0.1 per cent in red light over an instantaneous field of view of 100 deg2, enabling the detection of Neptune-sized exoplanets around Sun-like stars and super-Earths around M dwarfs. The survey is carried out with a purpose-built facility at Cerro Paranal, Chile, which is the premier site of the European Southern Observatory (ESO). An array of twelve 20 cm f/2.8 telescopes fitted with back-illuminated deep-depletion CCD cameras is used to survey fields intensively at intermediateGalactic latitudes. The instrument is also ideally suited to ground-based photometric follow-up of exoplanet candidates from space telescopes such as TESS, Gaia and PLATO. We present observations that combine precise autoguiding and the superb observing conditions at Paranal to provide routine photometric precision of 0.1 per cent in 1 h for stars with I-band magnitudes brighter than 13. We describe the instrument and data analysis methods as well as the status of the survey, which achieved first light in 2015 and began full-survey operations in 2016. NGTS data will be made publicly available through the ESO archive.",

keywords = "Atmospheric effects, Instrumentation: photometers, Planetary systems, Planets and satellites: detection, Surveys, Techniques: photometric",

author = "Wheatley, {Peter J.} and West, {Richard G.} and Goad, {Michael R.} and Jenkins, {James S.} and Pollacco, {Don L.} and Didier Queloz and Heike Rauer and St{\'e}phane Udry and Watson, {Christopher A.} and Bruno Chazelas and Philipp Eigm{\"u}ller and Gregory Lambert and Ludovic Genolet and James McCormac and Simon Walker and Armstrong, {David J.} and Daniel Bayliss and Joao Bento and Fran{\c c}ois Bouchy and Burleigh, {Matthew R.} and Juan Cabrera and Casewell, {Sarah L.} and Alexander Chaushev and Paul Chote and Szil{\'a}rd Csizmadia and Anders Erikson and Francesca Faedi and Emma Foxell and G{\"a}nsicke, {Boris T.} and Edward Gillen and Andrew Grange and G{\"u}nther, {Maximilian N.} and Hodgkin, {Simon T.} and James Jackman and Andr{\'e}s Jord{\'a}n and Tom Louden and Lionel Metrailler and Maximiliano Moyano and Nielsen, {Louise D.} and Osborn, {Hugh P.} and Katja Poppenhaeger and Roberto Raddi and Liam Raynard and Smith, {Alexis M.S.} and Maritza Soto and Ruth Titz-Weider",

note = "Publisher Copyright: {\textcopyright} 2017 The Author(s) Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the Royal Astronomical Society.",

year = "2018",

month = apr,

day = "21",

doi = "10.1093/mnras/stx2836",

language = "English",

volume = "475",

pages = "4476--4493",

journal = "Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society",

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publisher = "Oxford University Press",

number = "4",

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Wheatley, PJ, West, RG, Goad, MR, Jenkins, JS, Pollacco, DL, Queloz, D, Rauer, H, Udry, S, Watson, CA, Chazelas, B, Eigmüller, P, Lambert, G, Genolet, L, McCormac, J, Walker, S, Armstrong, DJ, Bayliss, D, Bento, J, Bouchy, F, Burleigh, MR, Cabrera, J, Casewell, SL, Chaushev, A, Chote, P, Csizmadia, S, Erikson, A, Faedi, F, Foxell, E, Gänsicke, BT, Gillen, E, Grange, A, Günther, MN, Hodgkin, ST, Jackman, J, Jordán, A, Louden, T, Metrailler, L, Moyano, M, Nielsen, LD, Osborn, HP, Poppenhaeger, K, Raddi, R, Raynard, L, Smith, AMS, Soto, M & Titz-Weider, R 2018, 'The Next Generation Transit Survey (NGTS)', Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society, vol. 475, no. 4, pp. 4476-4493. https://doi.org/10.1093/mnras/stx2836

TY - JOUR

T1 - The Next Generation Transit Survey (NGTS)

AU - Wheatley, Peter J.

AU - West, Richard G.

AU - Goad, Michael R.

AU - Jenkins, James S.

AU - Pollacco, Don L.

AU - Queloz, Didier

AU - Rauer, Heike

AU - Udry, Stéphane

AU - Watson, Christopher A.

AU - Chazelas, Bruno

AU - Eigmüller, Philipp

AU - Lambert, Gregory

AU - Genolet, Ludovic

AU - McCormac, James

AU - Walker, Simon

AU - Armstrong, David J.

AU - Bayliss, Daniel

AU - Bento, Joao

AU - Bouchy, François

AU - Burleigh, Matthew R.

AU - Cabrera, Juan

AU - Casewell, Sarah L.

AU - Chaushev, Alexander

AU - Chote, Paul

AU - Csizmadia, Szilárd

AU - Erikson, Anders

AU - Faedi, Francesca

AU - Foxell, Emma

AU - Gänsicke, Boris T.

AU - Gillen, Edward

AU - Grange, Andrew

AU - Günther, Maximilian N.

AU - Hodgkin, Simon T.

AU - Jackman, James

AU - Jordán, Andrés

AU - Louden, Tom

AU - Metrailler, Lionel

AU - Moyano, Maximiliano

AU - Nielsen, Louise D.

AU - Osborn, Hugh P.

AU - Poppenhaeger, Katja

AU - Raddi, Roberto

AU - Raynard, Liam

AU - Smith, Alexis M.S.

AU - Soto, Maritza

AU - Titz-Weider, Ruth

PY - 2018/4/21

Y1 - 2018/4/21

N2 - We describe the Next Generation Transit Survey (NGTS), which is a ground-based project searching for transiting exoplanets orbiting bright stars. NGTS builds on the legacy of previous surveys, most notably WASP, and is designed to achieve higher photometric precision and hence find smaller planets than have previously been detected from the ground. It also operates in red light,maximizing sensitivity to late K and earlyMdwarf stars. The survey specifications call for photometric precision of 0.1 per cent in red light over an instantaneous field of view of 100 deg2, enabling the detection of Neptune-sized exoplanets around Sun-like stars and super-Earths around M dwarfs. The survey is carried out with a purpose-built facility at Cerro Paranal, Chile, which is the premier site of the European Southern Observatory (ESO). An array of twelve 20 cm f/2.8 telescopes fitted with back-illuminated deep-depletion CCD cameras is used to survey fields intensively at intermediateGalactic latitudes. The instrument is also ideally suited to ground-based photometric follow-up of exoplanet candidates from space telescopes such as TESS, Gaia and PLATO. We present observations that combine precise autoguiding and the superb observing conditions at Paranal to provide routine photometric precision of 0.1 per cent in 1 h for stars with I-band magnitudes brighter than 13. We describe the instrument and data analysis methods as well as the status of the survey, which achieved first light in 2015 and began full-survey operations in 2016. NGTS data will be made publicly available through the ESO archive.

AB - We describe the Next Generation Transit Survey (NGTS), which is a ground-based project searching for transiting exoplanets orbiting bright stars. NGTS builds on the legacy of previous surveys, most notably WASP, and is designed to achieve higher photometric precision and hence find smaller planets than have previously been detected from the ground. It also operates in red light,maximizing sensitivity to late K and earlyMdwarf stars. The survey specifications call for photometric precision of 0.1 per cent in red light over an instantaneous field of view of 100 deg2, enabling the detection of Neptune-sized exoplanets around Sun-like stars and super-Earths around M dwarfs. The survey is carried out with a purpose-built facility at Cerro Paranal, Chile, which is the premier site of the European Southern Observatory (ESO). An array of twelve 20 cm f/2.8 telescopes fitted with back-illuminated deep-depletion CCD cameras is used to survey fields intensively at intermediateGalactic latitudes. The instrument is also ideally suited to ground-based photometric follow-up of exoplanet candidates from space telescopes such as TESS, Gaia and PLATO. We present observations that combine precise autoguiding and the superb observing conditions at Paranal to provide routine photometric precision of 0.1 per cent in 1 h for stars with I-band magnitudes brighter than 13. We describe the instrument and data analysis methods as well as the status of the survey, which achieved first light in 2015 and began full-survey operations in 2016. NGTS data will be made publicly available through the ESO archive.

KW - Atmospheric effects

KW - Instrumentation: photometers

KW - Planetary systems

KW - Planets and satellites: detection

KW - Surveys

KW - Techniques: photometric

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U2 - 10.1093/mnras/stx2836

DO - 10.1093/mnras/stx2836

M3 - Article

AN - SCOPUS:85042530162

SN - 0035-8711

VL - 475

SP - 4476

EP - 4493

JO - Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society

JF - Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society

IS - 4

ER -

The Next Generation Transit Survey (NGTS)

Abstract

Keywords

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