The following dissertation presents work done as part of a ground-based transit follow-up program designed to look for transit timing variations in well-known transiting systems called, the Apache Point Survey of Transit Lightcurves of Exoplanets (APOSTLE). I outline the observing strategy, data reduction and analysis of data for the objects GJ 1214b, XO-2b and TrES-3b. The results of our analysis show general agreement with previously measured properties for these systems, and in some cases we are able to place tighter constraints on system parameters. We were able to detect a low-energy stellar flare, and three spot-crossing events with our observations of GJ 1214b. Our transit timing data do not show strong signs of timing variations and hence we are unable to claim detections of additional planets. Even though the results of this study do not present any new discoveries, the topics outlined in this dissertation are a useful synthesis of techniques used to execute a high-precision ground-based transit follow-up project.

Timing and system parameters were measured for seven transiting exoplanets: OGLETR- 56b (11 transits), OGLE-TR-132b (7), OGLE-TR-111b (6), OGLE-TR-113b (6), CoRoT-2b (3), OGLE-TR-10b (3), and XO-2b (2). Ground-based observations of 38 transits were made using three new frame-transfer instruments: POETS and MagICe2v on the 6.5m Magellan telescopes, and MORIS on the 3m IRTF. For each planet, all transit light curves including available literature data were jointly fit using a Monte Carlo Markov Chain method, providing accurate new values for the planetary radius and other parameters. Transit ephemerides have been updated and transit midtimes have been investigated for potential transit timing variations (TTVs) caused by other planets or moons. Our transit midtime analysis contradicts a claimed TTV for OGLE-TR-111b (Diaz et al., 2008), finding no evidence in data from 2005-2009. The radius, 1.019 + 0.026 Rj, is intermediate to previous values (Winn et al., 2007; Diaz et al., 2008). We confirm the radius of OGLE-TR-56b, which previously had only one light curve (Pont et al., 2007), as 1.332 ± 0.063 Rj, but find a longer duration by 15 minutes, while the orbital period, 1.2119094 ± 0.0000024, is unchanged. Times for OGLE-TR-10b are consistent with the ephemeris of Holman et al. (2007), though two literature transits show large deviations (586 ± 86 s; Pont et al., 2007) and ( -612 ± 26 s; Bentley et al., 2009). Times for four planets (OGLE-TR-113b, OGLE-TR-132b, CoRoT-2b, and XO-2b), with midtime errors as small as 9 s, agree with published ephemerides and show no signs of TTVs. The orbital period of OGLE-TR-113b derived from new data from 2007-2009, however, is shorter by 0.24 ± 0.12 s compared to the period calculated for literature data from 2002 and 2005. If confirmed, this would be the first detection of a change in the orbital period of an exoplanet, which could be caused by orbital decay as the planet falls onto its star.

This book is dedicated to all the people interested in the CoRoT mission and the beautiful data that were delivered during its six year duration. Either amateurs, professional, young or senior researchers, they will find treasures not only at the time of this publication but also in the future twenty or thirty years. It presents the data in their final version, explains how they have been obtained, how to handle them, describes the tools necessary to understand them, and where to find them. It also highlights the most striking first results obtained up to now. CoRoT has opened several unexpected directions of research and certainly new ones still to be discovered.

A complete and in-depth review of exoplanet research, covering the discovery methods, physics and theoretical background.

This book comprises 26 articles on the EChO science cases, mission pre-assessment and assessment, phase-studies, the payload, the instrumentation and software. They are reprints of articles published in a special issue on EChO – Exoplanet Characterisation Observatory of the journal Experimental Astronomy. Originally published in Experimental Astronomy, Volume 40, Nos. 2-3 (2015)

An Introduction to Astronomical Photometry Using CCDsBy W. Romanishin