Title of programme: Ephemeris Refinement of Key Targets for the ESA-Ariel Mission
Abstract: The ESA-Ariel mission seeks to observe the atmospheres of around 1000 exoplanets. To maximise the science yield of the mission, the sample of planets studied must be as diverse as possible, probing all areas of the exoplanet population. To allow for this, the catalogue of planets from which the Ariel sample is chosen must be significantly larger. For each of these potential targets, a likely requirement is that number of key parameters are well characterised. One piece of knowledge that is undeniably obligatory is the predicted transit time of the planet in question. Keeping track of such a large number of worlds necessitates a well-structured follow-up programme and so the Ariel consortium has launched ExoClock, which allows professional and amateur astronomers from around the world to support this effort. Nevertheless, there are some planets which simply cannot be studied from the ground, and for which TESS data is also of insufficient quality, so another solution is required. Here we propose to use the excellent photometric performance of CHEOPS to study 9 key worlds for the Ariel mission. By observing these targets, CHEOPS will be ensuring they are available for future atmospheric characterisation and thereby providing key support for another ESA mission.
Temporal Coverage
2024-01-17T19:01:59Z / 2024-01-18T08:13:00Z
Version
3.0
Mission Description
CHEOPS (Benz et al., https://doi.org/10.1007/s10686-020-09679-4) is a European Space Agency (ESA) mission in partnership with Switzerland with important contributions to the payload and the ground segment from Austria, Belgium, France, Germany, Hungary, Italy, Portugal, Spain, Sweden and the United Kingdom.
The satellite has a single payload comprising an ultra-high precision photometer covering the 330 - 1100 nm wavelength range in a single photometric band. Observations are made as part of the Guaranteed Time Observing Programme that is formulated by the CHEOPS Science Team, and the Guest Observers Programme through which the Community at large can apply for CHEOPS time.
