Solar-Like Activity and Planetary Transits

A.F. Lanza; A.S. Bonomo; G. Cutispoto; I. Busà; A.C. Lanzafame; S. Messina; I. Pagano; K.G. Strassmeier

doi:10.1051/eas:2007088

All issues

Volume 25 (2007)

EAS Publications Series, 25 (2007) 161-164

Abstract

Issue		EAS Publications Series Volume 25, 2007 1^st ARENA Conference on "Large Astronomical Infrastructures at CONCORDIA, prospects and constraints for Antarctic Optical/IR Astronomy"


Page(s)		161 - 164
DOI		https://doi.org/10.1051/eas:2007088
Published online		23 May 2007

1^st ARENA Conference on "Large Astronomical Infrastructures at CONCORDIA, prospects and constraints for Antarctic Optical/IR Astronomy"
N. Epchtein and M. Candidi (eds)
EAS Publications Series, 25 (2007) 161-164

Solar-Like Activity and Planetary Transits

A.F. Lanza¹, A.S. Bonomo², G. Cutispoto¹, I. Busà¹, A.C. Lanzafame², S. Messina¹, I. Pagano¹ and K.G. Strassmeier³

¹ INAF – Osservatorio Astrofisico di Catania, via S. Sofia 78, 95123 Catania, Italy
² Dipartimento di Fisica e Astronomia dell'Università degli Studi di Catania, via S. Sofia 78, 95123 Catania, Italy
³ Astrophysikalisches Institut Potsdam, An der Sternwarte 16, 14482 Potsdam, Germany

Corresponding author: nlanza@oact.inaf.it

Abstract

Late-type MS stars display optical variability on different time scales due to the presence of photospheric brightness inhomogeneities produced by surface magnetic fields, analogous to cool spots and bright faculae observed in the Sun. We are developing methods to model the optical variability of main-sequence late-type stars to understand the impact of solar-like activity on the detection of planetary transits and to significantly improve the detection efficiency. Our techniques will also allow to map the longitude distribution of active regions on stars that harbor planets and to look for a possible connection between stellar activity and the presence of planets around a star.  