BRITE-Constellation: Nanosatellites for Precision Photometry of Bright Stars

Autor(en)

W. W. Weiss, S. M. Rucinski, A. F. J. Moffat, A. Schwarzenberg-Czerny, O. F. Koudelka, C. C. Grant, R. E. Zee, R. Kuschnig, Stefan W. Mochnacki, J. M. Matthews, P. Orleanski, A. Pamyatnykh, A. Pigulski, J. Alves, Manuel Güdel, G. Handler, G. A. Wade, K. Zwintz, M. Chaumont, S. Choi, C. Grant, T. Kallinger, Jakob Lifshits

Abstrakt

BRITE-Constellation (where BRITE stands for BRIght Target Explorer) is

an international nanosatellite mission to monitor photometrically, in

two colours, the brightness and temperature variations of stars

generally brighter than mag(V) ≈ 4 with precision and time coverage

not possible from the ground. The current mission design consists of six

nanosats (hence Constellation): two from Austria, two from Canada, and

two from Poland. Each 7 kg nanosat carries an optical telescope of

aperture 3 cm feeding an uncooled CCD. One instrument in each pair is

equipped with a blue filter; the other with a red filter. Each BRITE

instrument has a wide field of view (≈24°), so up to about 15

bright stars can be observed simultaneously, sampled in 32 × 32

pixels sub-rasters. Photometry of additional fainter targets, with

reduced precision but thorough time sampling, will be possible through

onboard data processing. The BRITE sample is dominated by the most

intrinsically luminous stars: massive stars seen at all evolutionary

stages, and evolved medium-mass stars at the very end of their nuclear

burning phases. The goals of BRITE-Constellation are to (1) measure p-

and g-mode pulsations to probe the interiors and ages of stars through

asteroseismology; (2) look for varying spots on the stars surfaces

carried across the stellar disks by rotation, which are the sources of

co-rotating interaction regions in the winds of the most luminous stars,

probably arising from magnetic subsurface convection; and (3) search for

planetary transits.

Organisation(en)

Institut für Astrophysik

Externe Organisation(en)

Polish Academy of Sciences (PAS), University of Toronto, Université de Montréal, Technische Universität Graz, University of British Columbia (UBC), Uniwersytet Wrocławski, Royal Military College of Canada, Katholieke Universiteit Leuven

Journal

Publications of the Astronomical Society of the Pacific

Band

126

Seiten

573-585

Anzahl der Seiten

13

ISSN

0004-6280

DOI

https://doi.org/10.1086/677236

Publikationsdatum

06-2014

Peer-reviewed

Ja

ÖFOS 2012

103003 Astronomie, 103004 Astrophysik

Schlagwörter

Link zum Portal

https://ucrisportal.univie.ac.at/de/publications/briteconstellation-nanosatellites-for-precision-photometry-of-bright-stars(7b6481ca-42ec-46d9-b104-8cf5f9cabe90).html