9:00 AM - 9:15 AM
[PCG19-01] The ExoClock Project: An open integrated and interactive platform to continuous monitor the targets of the Ariel space mission
★Invited Papers
Small telescopes have been proven efficient enough for successful follow-up observations of exoplanets for more than 20 years now. Such a project is the ExoClock project -www.exoclock.space – which aims to monitor regularly transiting exoplanets for the Ariel space mission, using small- and medium-scale telescopes. The project is part of the ephemerides working group of ESA's Ariel space mission and the main scope is to maximise the mission’s efficiency. In this effort we are actively collaborating with both professional and amateur astronomers coming from various countries around the world. This presentation will highlight the capabilities of small telescopes and how they can become valuable for exoplanet studies and space missions. More specifically, I will talk in detail about the organisation of the ExoClock project and the main tools that are used to achieve an effective pro-am collaboration. I will also present the status of the project and the results of the publications we have produced so far. Our research includes a collective analysis of light-curves acquired by ground telescopes most of which belong to amateur astronomers. This data is used in combination with other resources (literature data, space data and light-curves from other networks) to update the ephemerides of exoplanets that are candidates for the Ariel space mission. The ExoClock network currently consists of more than 1000 participant, most of whom are amateur astronomers (75%), a fact that highlights the significant contribution of amateurs in our project. The talk will end with lessons learned and how small telescopes can advance exoplanet observations and techniques.