We present details of an instrumental configuration dedicated to the detection of large gas-giant planets orbiting main sequence stars via the small drop in stellar brightness that occurs when the planet transits the stellar disk. Our proposed scheme involves the long-term monitoring of the light-curves of tens of thousands of stars using a Schmidt telescope coupled to a CCD via a bundle of 10,000 optical fibres. Using an existing theoretical model of planetary system formation, we calculate a detection rate of 14 transits per year for our proposed system. Some fibre- optic laboratory results and some tests of a 10 fibre multi- object photometer prototype used on the UK Schmidt telescope (UKST) are also presented to support the feasibility of this idea.

Date Published: 1 June 1994
PDF: 9 pages
Proc. SPIE 2198, Instrumentation in Astronomy VIII, (1 June 1994); doi: 10.1117/12.176815

Published in SPIE Proceedings Vol. 2198:
Instrumentation in Astronomy VIII
David L. Crawford; Eric R. Craine, Editor(s)