The Tierras Observatory: An ultra-precise photometer to characterize nearby terrestrial exoplanets

Juliana Garcia-Mejia; David Charbonneau; Daniel Fabricant; Jonathan Irwin; Robert Fata; Joseph M. Zajac; Peter E. Doherty

doi:10.1117/12.2561467

13 December 2020 The Tierras Observatory: An ultra-precise photometer to characterize nearby terrestrial exoplanets

Juliana Garcia-Mejia, David Charbonneau, Daniel Fabricant, Jonathan Irwin, Robert Fata, Joseph M. Zajac, Peter E. Doherty

Author Affiliations +

Proceedings Volume 11445, Ground-based and Airborne Telescopes VIII; 114457R (2020) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.2561467
Event: SPIE Astronomical Telescopes + Instrumentation, 2020, Online Only

Conference Poster

Abstract

We report on the status of The Tierras Observatory at the F.L. Whipple Observatory atop Mt. Hopkins, Arizona, a refurbished 1.3-m ultra-precise fully-automated photometer. Tierras is designed to regularly achieve photometric precisions below 700 ppm from the ground, which will enable the characterization of terrestrial planet transits orbiting < 0.3R stars with 3σ significance, as well as the potential discovery of exo-moons and exo-rings. The design choices that will enable our science goals include: a four-lens focal reducer and field-flattener to increase the field-of-view of the telescope from a 11.94' to a 0.48‡ side; a custom narrow bandpass (40.2 nm FWHM) filter centered around 863.5 nm to minimize precipitable water vapor (PWV) errors known to limit ground-based photometry of red dwarfs; and a deep-depletion 4K x 4K CCD with a 300ke- full well and QE< 85% in our bandpass, operating in frame transfer mode. We are also pursuing the design⊚ of a set of baffes to minimize the significant amount of scattered light currently reaching the image plane. Tierras will begin science operations in early 2021.

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Juliana Garcia-Mejia, David Charbonneau, Daniel Fabricant, Jonathan Irwin, Robert Fata, Joseph M. Zajac, and Peter E. Doherty "The Tierras Observatory: An ultra-precise photometer to characterize nearby terrestrial exoplanets", Proc. SPIE 11445, Ground-based and Airborne Telescopes VIII, 114457R (13 December 2020); https://doi.org/10.1117/12.2561467

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