KMTNet

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The KMTNet ( Korean 외계 행성 탐색 시스템 , English Korean Microlensing Telescope Network ) is a network of the Korea Astronomy and Space Science Institute of three reflector telescopes at the Cerro Tololo Inter-American Observatory , Siding Spring Observatory and South African Astronomical Observatory to create an uninterrupted one To enable observation of a region of the sky. The telescopes have an aperture of 1.6 m and are connected to a 340 megapixel - CCD camera equipped at the primary focus for observing a region of the sky from 2 ° x2 °; this can be recorded at intervals of 10 minutes to observe the variation over time. The telescopes were installed in 2014 and commissioned in 2015.

The primary scientific goal is the discovery of exoplanets through microlensing caused by them , for which 45% of the observation time is used. In addition, observations of exoplanets due to transits , of other objects of variable brightness and data for asteroid and comet search are expected. In the remaining time, supernovae , asteroids and comets in the rest of the southern hemisphere, surveys of nearby galaxies , especially satellite galaxies of the Milky Way , and investigation of supermassive black holes in variable active galaxy nuclei will be carried out.

swell