TRAPPIST: a robotic telescope dedicated to the study of planetary systems

M. Gillon; E. Jehin; P. Magain; V. Chantry; D. Hutsemékers; J. Manfroid; D. Queloz; S. Udry

doi:10.1051/epjconf/20101106002

EPJ

TRAPPIST: a robotic telescope dedicated to the study of planetary systems

M. Gillon¹, E. Jehin¹, P. Magain¹, V. Chantry¹, D. Hutsemékers¹, J. Manfroid¹, D. Queloz² and S. Udry²

¹ Institut d’Astrophysique et de Géophysique, Université de Liège, 17 Allée du 6 Août, Bat. B5C, 4000 Liège, Belgium
[michael.gillon@ulg.ac.be]
² Observatoire de Genève, Université de Genève, 51 Chemin des Maillettes, 1290 Sauverny, Switzerland

Abstract

We present here a new robotic telescope called TRAPPIST¹ (TRAnsiting Planets and PlanetesImals Small Telescope). Equipped with a high-quality CCD camera mounted on a 0.6 meter light weight optical tube, TRAPPIST has been installed in April 2010 at the ESO La Silla Observatory (Chile), and is now beginning its scientiﬁc program. The science goal of TRAPPIST is the study of planetary systems through two approaches: the detection and study of exoplanets, and the study of comets. We describe here the objectives of the project, the hardware, and we present some of the ﬁrst results obtained during the commissioning phase.