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Ultraprecise Photometry from Space: The MOST Microsat Mission

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  12 April 2016

J. M. Matthews ,
R. Kuschnig ,
G. A. H. Walker ,
J. Pazder ,
R. Johnson ,
K. Skaret ,
E. Shkolnik ,
T. Lanting ,
J. P. Morgan  and
S. Sidhu
J. M. Matthews
Affiliation:
Department of Physics & Astronomy, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, B.C., V6T 1Z4, Canada
R. Kuschnig
Affiliation:
Department of Physics & Astronomy, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, B.C., V6T 1Z4, Canada
G. A. H. Walker
Affiliation:
Department of Physics & Astronomy, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, B.C., V6T 1Z4, Canada
J. Pazder
Affiliation:
Department of Physics & Astronomy, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, B.C., V6T 1Z4, Canada
R. Johnson
Affiliation:
Department of Physics & Astronomy, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, B.C., V6T 1Z4, Canada
K. Skaret
Affiliation:
Department of Physics & Astronomy, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, B.C., V6T 1Z4, Canada
E. Shkolnik
Affiliation:
Department of Physics & Astronomy, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, B.C., V6T 1Z4, Canada
T. Lanting
Affiliation:
Department of Physics & Astronomy, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, B.C., V6T 1Z4, Canada
J. P. Morgan
Affiliation:
Department of Physics & Astronomy, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, B.C., V6T 1Z4, Canada
S. Sidhu
Affiliation:
Department of Physics & Astronomy, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, B.C., V6T 1Z4, Canada

Abstract

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MOST (Microvariability & Oscillations of STars / Microvariabilite et Oscillations STellaire) is a Canadian microsatellite mission intended to detect rapid photometric oscillations at the μmag level in stars brighter than V ∼ 6. This limit is set primarily by the 15-cm aperture of the MOST telescope. The small size and mass of the MOST bus (similar to a suitcase) sets a limit on the pointing accuracy of about ±10 arcsec. To achieve the required photometric precision under these conditions, the MOST focal plane features a set of Fabry microlenses which can spread the target starlight into a pupil image of the telescope onto a CCD. The large size (∼1600 pixels) and positional stability (±0.1 pixel) of these images makes MOST insensitive to CCD flat-fielding errors. MOST is currently on schedule to be launched in early 2002.

Type
Part 1. Large Scale Surveys: Present and Future
Information
International Astronomical Union Colloquium , Volume 176: The Impact of Large-Scale Surveys on Pulsating Star Research , 2000 , pp. 74 - 75
Copyright
Copyright © Astronomical Society of the Pacific 2000

References

Michel, E., Baglin, A., Barge, P., et al. 2000, in these proceedings, p. 69Google Scholar
Kjeldsen, H., Bedding, T.R., & Christensen-Dalsgaard, J. 2000, in these proceedings, p. 73Google Scholar
Matthews, J.M., Kuschnig, R., Walker, G.A.H., et al. 1999, http: //www.astro.ubc.ca/MOST/ Google Scholar