13 New Light Curves and Updated Mid-Transit Time and Period for Hot Jupiter WASP-104 b with EXOTIC

Volume 51 number 1 (2023)

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Heather B. Hewitt
School of Earth and Space Exploration, Arizona State University, 781 E Terrace Mall, Tempe, AZ 85287-6004; hbhewittt@asu.edu
Federico Noguer
School of Earth and Space Exploration, Arizona State University, 781 E Terrace Mall, Tempe, AZ 85287-6004
Suber Corley
School of Earth and Space Exploration, Arizona State University, 781 E Terrace Mall, Tempe, AZ 85287-6004
James Ball
School of Earth and Space Exploration, Arizona State University, 781 E Terrace Mall, Tempe, AZ 85287-6004
Claudia Chastain
School of Earth and Space Exploration, Arizona State University, 781 E Terrace Mall, Tempe, AZ 85287-6004
Richard Cochran-White
School of Earth and Space Exploration, Arizona State University, 781 E Terrace Mall, Tempe, AZ 85287-6004
Kendall Collins
School of Earth and Space Exploration, Arizona State University, 781 E Terrace Mall, Tempe, AZ 85287-6004
Kris Ganzel
School of Earth and Space Exploration, Arizona State University, 781 E Terrace Mall, Tempe, AZ 85287-6004
Kimberly Merriam Gray
School of Earth and Space Exploration, Arizona State University, 781 E Terrace Mall, Tempe, AZ 85287-6004
Mike Logan
School of Earth and Space Exploration, Arizona State University, 781 E Terrace Mall, Tempe, AZ 85287-6004
Steve Marquez-Perez
School of Earth and Space Exploration, Arizona State University, 781 E Terrace Mall, Tempe, AZ 85287-6004
Chyna Merchant
School of Earth and Space Exploration, Arizona State University, 781 E Terrace Mall, Tempe, AZ 85287-6004
Matthew Pedone
School of Earth and Space Exploration, Arizona State University, 781 E Terrace Mall, Tempe, AZ 85287-6004
Gina Plumey
School of Earth and Space Exploration, Arizona State University, 781 E Terrace Mall, Tempe, AZ 85287-6004
Matthew Rice
School of Earth and Space Exploration, Arizona State University, 781 E Terrace Mall, Tempe, AZ 85287-6004
Zachary Ruybal
School of Earth and Space Exploration, Arizona State University, 781 E Terrace Mall, Tempe, AZ 85287-6004
Molly N. Simon
School of Earth and Space Exploration, Arizona State University, 781 E Terrace Mall, Tempe, AZ 85287-6004
Isabela Huckabee
School of Earth and Space Exploration, Arizona State University, 781 E Terrace Mall, Tempe, AZ 85287-6004 and Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology, 4800 Oak Grove Drive, Pasadena, CA 91109
Robert T. Zellem
Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology, 4800 Oak Grove Drive, Pasadena, CA 91109
Kyle A. Pearson
Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology, 4800 Oak Grove Drive, Pasadena, CA 91109

Abstract

Using the EXOplanet Transit Interpretation Code (EXOTIC), we reduced 52 sets of images of WASP-104 b, a Hot Jupiter-class exoplanet orbiting WASP-104, in order to obtain an updated mid-transit time (ephemeris) and orbital period for the planet. We performed this reduction on images taken with a 6-inch telescope of the Center for Astrophysics | Harvard & Smithsonian MicroObservatory. Of the reduced light curves, 13 were of sufficient accuracy to be used in updating the ephemerides for WASP-104 b, meeting or exceeding the three-sigma standard for determining a significant detection. Our final mid-transit value was 2457805.170208 ± 0.000036 BJD_TBD and the final period value was 1.75540644 ± 0.00000016 days. The true significance of our results is in their derivation from image sets gathered over time by a small, ground-based telescope as part of the Exoplanet Watch citizen science initiative, and their competitive results to an ephemeris generated from data gathered by the TESS telescope. We use these results to further show how such techniques can be employed by amateur astronomers and citizen scientists to maximize the efficacy of larger telescopes by reducing the use of expensive observation time. The work done in the paper was accomplished as part of the first fully online Course-Based Undergraduate Research Experience (CURE) for astronomy majors in the only online Bachelor of Science program in Astronomical and Planetary Sciences.