HATNet Project

The Hungarian Automated Telescope Network (HATNet) Project is a network of six small, fully automated HAT telescopes. The scientific goal of the project is the discovery and characterization of exoplanets and also the finding and tracking of bright variable stars . The network is operated by the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics .

HAT stands for Hungarian-made Automated Telescope because it was developed by a small group of Hungarians who met at the Hungarian Astronomical Association . The project started in 1999 and has been fully operational since May 2001.

HAT-South

Since 2009, 3 more locations have joined the HATNet. The telescopes are located in Australia , Namibia and Chile . Exoplanets discovered by the HAT-South project usually begin with the abbreviation HATS such as HATS-1b .

Discovered exoplanets

Together, HATNet and HAT-South had discovered around 100 exoplanets using the transit method by 2018 .

see list of extrasolar planets as HAT-P or HATS classified

Web links

• The HATNet Exoplanet Survey
• Chicago Journals (Deatailled technical description and history of the project)
• The Astronomical Journal (More description about the methodology and the observations)