Improving Transit Predictions of Known Exoplanets with TERMS

¹ NASA Exoplanet Science Institute, Caltech, Pasadena, CA, 91125, USA
² Dept of Astronomy, Yale University, New Haven, CT, 06520, USA
³ Tennessee State University, Nashville, TN, 37209, USA
⁴ Dept of Astronomy, University of California, Berkeley, CA, 94720, USA
⁵ Dept of Physics & Astronomy, Swarthmore College, Swarthmore, PA, 19081, USA
⁶ UCO/Lick Observatory, University of California, Santa Cruz, CA, 95064, USA
⁷ Dept of Astronomy & Astrophysics, Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA, 16802, USA

Abstract

Transiting planet discoveries have largely been restricted to the short-period or low-periastron distance regimes due to the bias inherent in the geometric transit probability. Through the refinement of planetary orbital parameters, and hence reducing the size of transit windows, long-period planets become feasible targets for photometric follow-up. Here we describe the TERMS project that is monitoring these host stars at predicted transit times.