keplerrepcov05.pdf Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics22 December 2005 NASA Center for Aerospace Information (CASI) Attention: Accessioning Department 7121 Standard Drive Hanover, Maryland 21076-1320 Subject: Annual Report No. 3 Reference: Cooperative Agreement NCC2-1390 Transmitted herewith is one (1) copy of the subject report for the period 1 December 2004 through 30 November 2005, in accordance with the provisions of the above referenced Cooperative Agreement. Pursuant to the regulations applicable to the subject Cooperative Agreement, SAO hereby certifies that we have maintained a procedure for compliance with the Patent Rights/New Technology requirements and that there are no reportable inventions/disclosures. Very truly yours, Michael G. Griffith Proposal & Awards Specialist cm Enclosure cc: Barrie Caldwell, MS 241-1, NASA/Ames, w/encl. Charles Sobeck, MS 244-12, NASA/Ames, w/encl. Valarie Woodbury, ONR-Boston, w/encl. bcc: C. Alcock, w/encl. D. Fabricant, w/encl. L. Feldman, w/encl. D. Latham, w/encl. File NCC2-1390, w/encl.TARGET CHARACTERIZATION AND FOLLOW-UP OBSERVATIONS IN SUPPORT OF THE KEPLER MISSION NCC2-1390 Annual Report No. 3 01 December 2004 to 30 November 2005 Principal Investigator Dr. David W. Latham December 2005 Smithsonian Institution Astrophysical Observatory Cambridge, Massachusetts 02138 The Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory is a member of the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics22 December 2005 NASA Center for Aerospace Information (CASI) Attention: Accessioning Department 7121 Standard Drive Hanover, Maryland 21076-1320 Subject: Annual Report No. 3 Reference: Cooperative Agreement NCC2-1390 Transmitted herewith is one (1) copy of the subject report for the period 1 December 2004 through 30 November 2005, in accordance with the provisions of the above referenced Cooperative Agreement. Pursuant to the regulations applicable to the subject Cooperative Agreement, SAO hereby certifies that we have maintained a procedure for compliance with the Patent Rights/New Technology requirements and that there are no reportable inventions/disclosures. Very truly yours, Michael G. Griffith Proposal & Awards Specialist cm Enclosure cc: Barrie Caldwell, MS 241-1, NASA/Ames, w/encl. Charles Sobeck, MS 244-12, NASA/Ames, w/encl. Valarie Woodbury, ONR-Boston, w/encl. bcc: C. Alcock, w/encl. D. Fabricant, w/encl. L. Feldman, w/encl. D. Latham, w/encl. File NCC2-1390, w/encl.TARGET CHARACTERIZATION AND FOLLOW-UP OBSERVATIONS IN SUPPORT OF THE KEPLER MISSION This report covers work carried out at the Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory during the period 1 December 2004 to 30 November 2005 SAO is leading the effort to prepare the Kepler Input Catalog, which will be used to select the targets actually observed for planetary transits by Kepler. In March 2004 a team led by SAO was selected to carry out a ground-based multi-band photometric survey of the Kepler target region and to use the new photometry along with other available information to estimate the astrophysical characteristics of candidate target stars for inclusion in the Kepler Input Catalog. SAO is also active in making follow-up observations of transiting planet candidates identified by several ground-based photometric surveys. The goal is to learn how to identify stellar systems that mimic transiting planets, since this will be a major challenge for the interpretation of candidates identified by Kepler. Kepler Input Catalog A preliminary version of the Kepler Input Catalog was delivered to the Kepler Science Office in December 2004. It included all known stars in the Kepler field of view, based on existing catalogs such as the USNO-B1, for a total of more than 20 million stars. It also included more than 2 million stars with 2MASS infrared photometry, supplemented in many cases by new photometry from SAO’s 48-inch telescope in the SDSS g, r, i, and z bands plus a custom intermediate band filter, D51, designed for luminosity sensitivity. For those stars with photometry in all the bands, the Kepler Input Catalog provided preliminary estimates of the astrophysical parameters. Ground-Based Multi-band Photometric Survey Production observing for the ground-based multi-band photometric survey began in May 2004, using the 4Shooter CCD camera on the 48-inch telescope at SAO’s Whipple Observatory atop Mount Hopkins, Arizona. Altogether the 4Shooter was scheduled for 91 nights for this project. During the summer shutdown in August 2004 the MiniCam CCD camera, on loan from the MMT, was brought into operation on the 48-inch telescope as an interim replacement for the venerable 4Shooter. It was used for production observing during the fall 2004 and spring 2005 observing seasons. Altogether MiniCam was scheduled for 104 nights for this project. During the summer shutdown in August 2005, KeplerCam was brought into operation on the 48-inch telescope as a permanent facility instrument. It was used for production observing on all of the 47 nights assigned to this project in the fall of 2005. Time on the 48-inch telescope is under 1control of the CfA Time Allocation Committee, and has been provided at no cost to NASA. In 2004 SAO undertook a project to build KeplerCam, a new state-of-the-art CCD camera for the 48-inch telescope at the Whipple Observatory. One of the advantages of KeplerCam is that it utilizes a single monolithic chip with four amplifiers, so there are no gaps in the images. In its normal mode of operation the read-out time for KeplerCam is 9 seconds. The quantum efficiency, cosmetic quality, charge transfer efficiency, and readout noise are all excellent. KeplerCam was built by John Geary in his laboratory at SAO, with Dave Latham serving as the Principle Investigator, Andy Szentgyorgyi as the Project Scientist, and with the participation of Steve Amato, Kevin Bennett, and Brian McLeod. The operating software for KeplerCam was developed by Ted Groner at the Whipple Observatory, with Emilio Falco responsible for supervising the daily operations and preparing the local documentation, and Wayne Peters serving as the Instrument Specialist. The participation of Latham, Geary, Amato, Bennett, Groner, Falco, and Peters was contributed by SAO at no cost to NASA. Two observers, Carl Hegenrother and Gil Esquerdo, carried out the