Other
Scientific paper
Jan 2010
adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-data_query?bibcode=2010aas...21542011b&link_type=abstract
American Astronomical Society, AAS Meeting #215, #420.11; Bulletin of the American Astronomical Society, Vol. 42, p.285
Other
Scientific paper
Kepler seeks to detect sequences of transits of Earth-size exoplanets orbiting Sun-like stars. Such transit signals are on the order of 80 ppm. The high photometric precision demanded by Kepler requires detailed knowledge of how the Kepler pixels respond to starlight during a nominal observational cadence. This information is provided by the Kepler pixel response function (PRF), defined as the composition of Kepler's optical point spread function, integrated spacecraft pointing jitter during a nominal cadence, intra-pixel variability and other systematic effects. To provide sub-pixel resolution, the PRF is represented as a piecewise-continuous polynomial on a sub-pixel mesh. This continuous representation allows the prediction of a star's flux value on any pixel given the star's pixel position. The advantages and difficulties of this polynomial representation are discussed, including characterization of spatial variation in the PRF and the smoothing of discontinuities between sub-pixel polynomial patches. On-orbit super-resolution measurements of the PRF across the Kepler field of view are described. Several uses of the PRF are presented, including 1) the selection of pixels for each star that maximize the photometric signal to noise ratio for that star, 2) PRF-fitted centroids, that provide robust and accurate stellar positions on the CCD, primarily used for attitude and plate scale tracking, 3) PRF photometry and 4) tracking focus changes over time. Good knowledge of the PRF has been a critical component of the successful collection of high-precision photometry by Kepler. Kepler was selected as the 10th mission of the Discovery Program.
Funding for this mission is provided by NASA, Science Mission Directorate.
Borucki William. J.
Bryson Steve
Caldwell Douglas A.
Chandrasekaran Hema
Dotson Jessie L.
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