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Wide Angle Search for Planets
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<h2 id="equipment">Equipment</h2> <p>WASP consists of two <a href="/facts/Robotic_telescope/kToUJdWx">robotic observatories</a>; SuperWASP-North at <a href="/facts/Roque_de_los_Muchachos_Observatory/WzGSXRJR">Roque de los Muchachos Observatory</a> on the island of La Palma in the Canaries and WASP-South at the <a href="/facts/South_African_Astronomical_Observatory/F1cjYtGC">South African Astronomical Observatory</a>, South Africa. Each observatory consists of an array of eight Canon 200 mm f1.8 lenses backed by high quality 2048 × 2048 science-grade <a href="/facts/Charge-coupled_device/l6xffIcz">CCDs</a>, the model used is the iKon-L<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:6" href="#fn:6"><sup>6</sup></a> manufactured by <a href="/facts/Andor_Technology/d46xvV84">Andor Technology</a>.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:7" href="#fn:7"><sup>7</sup></a> The telescopes are mounted on an equatorial telescope mount built by <a href="/facts/Optical_Mechanics,_Inc./TUutduCx">Optical Mechanics, Inc.</a><a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:8" href="#fn:8"><sup>8</sup></a> The large field of view of the Canon lenses gives each observatory a massive sky coverage of 490 <a href="/facts/Square_degree/9Gr9FVqX">square degrees</a> per pointing.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:9" href="#fn:9"><sup>9</sup></a> </p> <h2 id="function">Function</h2> <p>The observatories continuously monitor the sky, taking a set of images approximately once per minute, gathering up to 100 <a href="/facts/Gigabytes/s2hb2SEg">gigabytes</a> of data per night. By using the <a href="/facts/Methods_of_detecting_extrasolar_planets/vFIblQe9">transit method</a>, data collected from WASP can be used to measure the brightness of each star in each image, and small dips in brightness caused by large planets passing in front of their parent stars can be searched for. </p><p>One of the main purpose of WASP was to revolutionize the understanding of planet formation, paving the way for future space missions searching for <a href="/facts/Earth_analog/yWNmDHXh">'Earth'-like worlds</a>. </p> <h2 id="structure">Structure</h2> <p>WASP is operated by a consortium of academic institutions which include: </p> <ul><li><a href="/facts/Instituto_de_Astrof%C3%ADsica_de_Canarias/9mWBEdka">Instituto de Astrofisica de Canarias</a></li> <li><a href="/facts/Isaac_Newton_Group_of_Telescopes/QJBz9pvw">Isaac Newton Group of Telescopes</a></li> <li><a href="/facts/Keele_University/3JumIoNJ">Keele University</a></li> <li><a href="/facts/Open_University/XtKeHXvB">Open University</a></li> <li><a href="/facts/Queen%27s_University_Belfast/pCAj2RfC">Queen's University Belfast</a></li> <li><a href="/facts/University_of_St_Andrews/IwXjmljw">St. Andrews University</a></li> <li><a href="/facts/University_of_Leicester/Q0vDtHV7">University of Leicester</a></li> <li><a href="/facts/University_of_Warwick/A88IPplp">Warwick University</a>.</li></ul> <p>On 26 September 2006, the team reported the discovery of two extrasolar planets: <a href="/facts/WASP-1b/STQLEStr">WASP-1b</a> (orbiting at 0.038 <a href="/facts/Astronomical_unit/gjsbu5xU">AU</a> (6 million km) from star once every 2.5 days) and <a href="/facts/WASP-2b/h7AClt9K">WASP-2b</a> (orbiting three-quarters that radius once every 2 days).<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:10" href="#fn:10"><sup>10</sup></a> </p><p>On 31 October 2007, the team reported the discovery of three extrasolar planets: <a href="/facts/WASP-3b/jU7RcFWz">WASP-3b</a>, <a href="/facts/WASP-4b/x89D5VeF">WASP-4b</a> and <a href="/facts/WASP-5b/Q7ww0CRA">WASP-5b</a>. All three planets are similar to <a href="/facts/Jupiter_mass/EtLUmeEN">Jovian mass</a> and are so close to their respective stars that their orbital periods are all less than two days. These are among the shortest orbital periods discovered. The surface temperatures of the planets should be more than 2000 degrees <a href="/facts/Celsius/okAEu1CA">Celsius</a>, owing to their short distances from their respective stars. The WASP‑4b and WASP-5b are the first planets discovered by the cameras and researchers in South Africa. WASP-3b is the third planet discovered by the equivalent in La Palma. </p><p>In August 2009, the discovery of <a href="/facts/WASP-17b/EJ0PNSwp">WASP-17b</a> was announced, believed to be the first planet ever discovered to orbit in the opposite direction to the spin of its star, <a href="/facts/WASP-17/dydfsAWU">WASP-17</a>. </p> <h2 id="discoveries-and-follow-up-observations"> Discoveries and follow-up observations</h2> <ul><li>WASP-9b was determined to be a false positive after its initial public announcement as a planet, and the identifier was not subsequently reassigned to a real planetary system.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:11" href="#fn:11"><sup>11</sup></a></li></ul> <h2 id="see-also">See also</h2> <ul><li><a href="/facts/Lists_of_exoplanets/op9vhHys">Lists of exoplanets</a></li> <li><a href="/facts/Roque_de_los_Muchachos_Observatory/WzGSXRJR">Roque de los Muchachos Observatory</a></li> <li><a href="/facts/South_African_Astronomical_Observatory/F1cjYtGC">South African Astronomical Observatory</a></li> <li><a href="/facts/Science_and_Technology_Facilities_Council/kV0mrV2t">Science and Technology Facilities Council</a></li> <li><a href="/facts/V1400_Centauri/1dL9uYfV">V1400 Centauri</a> (SWASP J1407b)</li></ul> <h3>Other extrasolar planet search projects</h3> <ul><li><a href="/facts/Trans-Atlantic_Exoplanet_Survey/4JHoQVnM">Trans-Atlantic Exoplanet Survey</a> or <i>TrES</i></li> <li><a href="/facts/XO_Telescope/vXsGYnru">XO Telescope</a> or <i>XO</i></li> <li><a href="/facts/Kilodegree_Extremely_Little_Telescope/S4VJRJqt">Kilodegree Extremely Little Telescope</a> or <i>KELT</i></li> <li><a href="/facts/Next-Generation_Transit_Survey/NkuvQgW5">Next-Generation Transit Survey</a> or <i>NGTS</i></li> <li><a href="/facts/HATNet_Project/83p1PJd9">HATNet Project</a> or <i>HAT</i></li></ul> <h3>Extrasolar planet searching spacecraft</h3> <ul><li><a href="/facts/CoRoT/RUf22I1t">CoRoT</a> – European space telescope that operated between 2006 - 2014</li> <li><a href="/facts/Kepler_space_telescope/E485cUts">Kepler space telescope</a> – NASA space telescope for exoplanetology (2009–2018)</li> <li><a href="/facts/Transiting_Exoplanet_Survey_Satellite/IxEjYsYd">Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite</a> – NASA satellite of the Explorer program</li></ul> <h2 id="external-links">External links</h2> <ul><li><a href="https://wasp-planets.net/wasp-planets/">WASP Planets</a></li> <li><a href="http://wasp-planets.net/">WASP primary website</a></li> <li><a href="http://wasp.astro.keele.ac.uk/live">WASP-South live status</a> <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20210125143347/http://wasp.astro.keele.ac.uk/live">Archived</a> 25 January 2021 at the <a href="/facts/Wayback_Machine/nmQ3a6JC">Wayback Machine</a></li> <li><a href="http://exoplanetarchive.ipac.caltech.edu/docs/SuperWASPMission.html">Public archive at the NASA Exoplanet Archive</a></li> <li><a href="https://exoplanet.eu/home/">The Extrasolar Planets Encyclopaedia</a></li></ul> <h3>News items</h3> <ul><li><a href="http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/northern_ireland/7322979.stm">QUB in April 2008</a></li> <li><a href="http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/northern_ireland/7070911.stm">Reaching for the stars in October 2007</a></li> <li>BBC News report: <a href="http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/sci/tech/5378562.stm">Planets have scientists buzzing in September 2006</a></li></ul> <h3>Video clips</h3> <ul><li><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ODuU9Ia1vN4">Keele University</a></li> <li>McCormac, James. <a href="http://www.deepskyvideos.com/videos/other/superwasp_hunting.html">"Planet Hunting"</a>. <i>Deep Space Videos</i>. <a href="/facts/Brady_Haran/7oNb0Tez">Brady Haran</a>.</li></ul> <h2 id="references">References</h2> <ol> <li id="fn:1"><p>Pollacco, D. L.; Skillen, I.; Collier Cameron, A.; Christian, D. J.; Hellier, C.; Irwin, J.; Lister, T. A.; Street, R. A.; West, R. G.; Anderson, D. R.; Clarkson, W. I.; Deeg, H.; Enoch, B.; Evans, A.; Fitzsimmons, A.; Haswell, C. A.; Hodgkin, S.; Horne, K.; Kane, S. R.; Keenan, F. P.; Maxted, P. F. L.; Norton, A. J.; Osborne, J.; Parley, N. R.; Ryans, R. S. I.; Smalley, B.; Wheatley, P. J.; Wilson, D. M. (2016). "The WASP Project and the SuperWASP Cameras". The Publications of the Astronomical Society of the Pacific. 118 (848): 1407–1418. arXiv:astro-ph/0608454. Bibcode:2006PASP..118.1407P. doi:10.1086/508556. S2CID 24601511. <a href="/wiki/ArXiv_(identifier)" target="_blank">/wiki/ArXiv_(identifier)</a> <a href="#fnref:1" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:2"><p>"SuperWASP Survey Information". NASA Exoplanet Science Institute. 5 February 2015. <a href="http://exoplanetarchive.ipac.caltech.edu/docs/SuperWASPMission.html" target="_blank">http://exoplanetarchive.ipac.caltech.edu/docs/SuperWASPMission.html</a> <a href="#fnref:2" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:3"><p>Queloz, D.; Anderson, D. R.; Collier Cameron, A.; Gillon, M.; Hebb, L.; Hellier, C.; Maxted, P.; Pepe, F.; Pollacco, D.; Ségransan, D.; Smalley, B.; Triaud, A. H. M. J.; Udry, S.; West, R. (2010). "WASP-8b: a retrograde transiting planet in a multiple system". Astronomy and Astrophysics. 517: L1. arXiv:1006.5089. Bibcode:2010A&A...517L...1Q. doi:10.1051/0004-6361/201014768. S2CID 35774603. <a href="/wiki/ArXiv_(identifier)" target="_blank">/wiki/ArXiv_(identifier)</a> <a href="#fnref:3" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:4"><p>"Searching for Super-Earths" (PDF). Queen's University. 2014. Retrieved 1 September 2015. <a href="https://star.pst.qub.ac.uk/webdav/public/stfc2014/posters/a1/NGTS%20-%20Watson%20v2%20FINAL.pdf" target="_blank">https://star.pst.qub.ac.uk/webdav/public/stfc2014/posters/a1/NGTS%20-%20Watson%20v2%20FINAL.pdf</a> <a href="#fnref:4" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:5"><p>"Catalog". Extrasolar Planets Encyclopaedia. 1995. Retrieved 1 April 2016. <a href="https://exoplanet.eu/catalog/" target="_blank">https://exoplanet.eu/catalog/</a> <a href="#fnref:5" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:6"><p>"Technical". 16 December 2013. <a href="http://wasp-planets.net/technical/" target="_blank">http://wasp-planets.net/technical/</a> <a href="#fnref:6" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:7"><p>"Home". andor.com. <a href="http://www.andor.com/" target="_blank">http://www.andor.com/</a> <a href="#fnref:7" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:8"><p>"OMI News". Archived from the original on 28 December 2007. Retrieved 14 February 2009. <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20071228175159/http://www.opticalmechanics.com/news/index.html" target="_blank">https://web.archive.org/web/20071228175159/http://www.opticalmechanics.com/news/index.html</a> <a href="#fnref:8" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:9"><p>Current status of the SuperWASP project Archived 4 March 2016 at the Wayback Machine, D. J. Christian et al. <a href="http://wasp.astro.keele.ac.uk/documents/current%20status%20of%20the%20superwasp%20project.pdf" target="_blank">http://wasp.astro.keele.ac.uk/documents/current%20status%20of%20the%20superwasp%20project.pdf</a> <a href="#fnref:9" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:10"><p>Collier Cameron, A; Bouchy, F; Hébrard, G; Maxted, P; Pollacco, D; Pont, F; Skillen, I; Smalley, B; Street, R. A; West, R. G; Wilson, D. M; Aigrain, S; Christian, D. J; Clarkson, W. I; Enoch, B; Evans, A; Fitzsimmons, A; Fleenor, M; Gillon, M; Haswell, C. A; Hebb, L; Hellier, C; Hodgkin, S. T; Horne, K; Irwin, J; Kane, S. R; Keenan, F. P; Loeillet, B; Lister, T. A; et al. (2007). "WASP-1b and WASP-2b: Two new transiting exoplanets detected with SuperWASP and SOPHIE". Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society. 375 (3): 951–957. arXiv:astro-ph/0609688. Bibcode:2007MNRAS.375..951C. doi:10.1111/j.1365-2966.2006.11350.x. S2CID 735515. <a href="https://doi.org/10.1111%2Fj.1365-2966.2006.11350.x" target="_blank">https://doi.org/10.1111%2Fj.1365-2966.2006.11350.x</a> <a href="#fnref:10" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:11"><p>Cunha, D.; Figuera, P.; Santos, N. C.; Lovis, C.; Boue, G. (2013). "Impact of stellar companions on precise radial velocities". Astronomy and Astrophysics. 550: A75. arXiv:1212.2848. Bibcode:2013A&A...550A..75C. doi:10.1051/0004-6361/201220083. S2CID 53955379. <a href="/wiki/ArXiv_(identifier)" target="_blank">/wiki/ArXiv_(identifier)</a> <a href="#fnref:11" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> </ol>